A Prayer is No Use in a World with No God
by OmNomNomAttack
Summary: Sword Art Online is a place of infinite oppertunity, which is exactly what Hisoka needs. Trapped in this virutal reality, between the infinite violence and strugging to be himself it occurs to him; maybe he doesn't want to leave. Ever. Warnings: Transgender character, violence, angst, slash. Pairing; Kirito/Asuna, Kirito/Original Character *FOLLOWS THE ANIME! MANY SPOILERS INSIDE!*
1. Dawn

"Hoshi! Are you going to play SAO?" Mutsa asked the young girl with short, blonde hair. Hoshi pressed the phone to her ear to better hear her sister,

"Yes, are you, Mutsa?" She asked, hearing her sister laugh in response.

"Of course, I'll see you on there." She said, hanging up on her sister. Looking down at her NerveGear, the fourteen-year-old grinned, it had been almost six months since the beta-test and she couldn't wait to play Sword Art Online again. The game had been online for only ten minutes, but already there were six hundred people online. She pulled the NerveGear onto her head and watched the time slowly click from twelve twenty nine to twelve thirty. Closing her eyes, she felt herself leave her body as she smiled to herself.

"Link start!" She said, and everything went white.

Then there was colour, so many colours. It whirled around her, making her dizzy until her senses caught up and she was prepared. She chose her language - Japanese - before she logged in with her old sign up account. The screen came up with:

Character Creation

Beta test still available. Would you like to use it?

Hisoka(M)

She clicked yes. An odd feeling swept over her, her body shifted, her breasts disappearing, her lady-parts changing. 'She' became 'he'. Sometimes, he hated himself, that around his family and friends, he couldn't be himself, but that was their fault - his grandfather's fault. He couldn't tell his grandfather the truth because he was stuck in his ancient-Japan ways, when it was still called Nippon.

At least he could be himself here, and still have his life out there. Even if Mutsa would never find him, he was OK.

The screen read: Welcome to Sword Art Online.

He was home. There was a burst of colour and he found himself blinking in the sudden sunlight that he now saw. In front of him was a large building, all around him, players. Hisoka felt power surge through him as he saw his own reflection in the fountain beside him;

Blonde hair, just like his own, strong, dark eyes, thin stature and tight, pale grey shirt, complete with coin satchel and equipment slots. His pants were a smooth and comfortable, grey material.

Bringing his right hand down beside him, he opened the menu, searching through his items, finding he only had basic items, but thankfully enough to buy a decent sword. He looked around himself, at the town of new beginnings.

He went out hunting after buying a decent weapon, large one - a meat cleaver - a sheath, along with some health potions, after all, he was level one again, getting killed by a boar this early would be a waste.

He went to the west field in search of game, seeing many boars meant a chance to gain some skills.

By early evening, he had gained sufficient levels for day one, now at level two, and was ready to make himself a dinner of ramen. As he swiped his hand down, the menu came up, but no log out button was there. He looked for almost twenty minutes, waiting for contact from the GM, but to no avail.

The bell from the tower began to ring, making him look up in alarm and he was forced to teleport back to the centre of town.

Up in the sky, there was a single flashing warning, which soon enough spread until the golden sky was red with tessellated warnings, both saying warning and System Announcement. It didn't look good. Something began to melt from the cracks between the hexagonal shapes, ballooning out and working to form a single cloaked being, his face shadowed by a hood of blood red.

"_Attention players."_ The hooded figure announced, silencing the hubbub that had risen as he had, extending his arms as he spoke, "_Welcome to my world."_

The man Hisoka had teleported beside muttered the words to himself, _"'My world'_?" He murmured, not that Hisoka paid any attention to him, his eyes fixated on the being in front of him.

"_My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world."_ Kayaba was the creator of SAO, and a legend, "_I'm sure you've already noticed that the logout button is missing in the menu."_ He rose his own menu as he talked, flicking through it with one gloved hand, demonstrating this to all. "_But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat… This is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of Sword Art Online_." The resulting gasps from the crowd made Hisoka uneasy, sure, he had never really fitted in with society, but he could tell that this was bad. "_You cannot log out of SAO on your own. And no-one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear_." Hisoka was trembling with anticipation, rather than fear. Finally, a place where he could be himself,  
forever. His stomach dropped, however, at Kayaba's next piece of information. "_Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave destroying your brain and ending your life."_

Hisoka felt outrage build deep in his gut, this was imprisonment. He'd spent enough time trying to fit in with society to know that was wrong.

A commotion was heard a young couple tried to leave the dome. "Hey, I can't get out!" The man cried, hitting his fist against an invisible force field.

Hisoka was brought out of his enthralment of this commotion by the man standing near him.

"He's gotta be nuts, right, Kirito?" The red-haired man was addressing the dark-haired man beside Hisoka.

_Kirito… I've heard the name before. He was one of the betas_. Hisoka thought to himself. As Hisoka thought about what he knew about Kirito, Hisoka, he missed Kirito's reply, but was brought back when Kayaba began to speak once again.

"_Unfortunately, several players' friends and families have ignored this warning and have attempted to remove the NerveGear. As result, two hundred and thirteen players are gone forever, from both Aincrad and the real world."_ The only sound Hisoka hear was the beating of his own heart, and the muttering of Kirito and the red-haired man beside him.

"_As you can see, news organisations across the world are reporting all of this, including the deaths._" Hisoka watched with horror as Kayaba pulled up news articles, including one from her home town, which all showed reports of the incidents. "_Thus you can assume the danger of a NerveGear being removed is now minimal_." Hisoka could almost hear the smugness in his voice. _"I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game. But I want you to remember this clearly. There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost. And simultaneously…_" The hooded murderer added a dramatic pause, loving the feel of power over these people. "_The NerveGear will destroy your brain_." The crowd seemed shocked by this proclamation, waiting to see if he would continue.

Kayaba brought up a map for everyone to see, illustrating what he was about to say; "_There is only one means of escape. To complete the game. You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, Floor One. If you make your way to the floor dungeon and defeat the floor boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game_."

The people around seemed to latch onto this morsel of hope, clinging to it as their death was foretold, and just as quickly, violently expel it, like a virus, their words mimicking that of stomach contents of hope.

"_Finally, I've added a present from me to your item storage_." At this, Hisoka quickly opened his menu, "_Please see for yourselves_." The hooded figure urged.

"Mirror." Hisoka muttered out loud. He stared at it for a minute, before deciding to use it. He saw his own reflection - his game reflection - mirrored back at him, but then there was a flash of blue light, and he changed.

His chest hurt like hell, like it had been punched repeatedly. He turned to face Kirito, to see what happened, but saw a completely different person. Who was this? Once again looking in his mirror, Hisoka cried out in horror.

His breasts were back, which explains the hurt in his chest, his hair had stayed the same, but his eyes were softer somehow. He hated it. He was thankful, however, that the shirt had been so tight as to not physically allow Hisoka's breasts to be there, sure it hurt, but that was life. He - because he would prefer to be recognised as a male, no matter what sex - would get some bandages, and bandage those pesky breasts down so no-one would be able to tell.

Kirito, at this time, was also coming to terms with himself, and the red-haired man, Klein, though Hisoka wasn't listening. Finally, Kayaba began to speak once more.

"_Right now, you're probably wondering, "Why?" Why would Kayaba Akihiko developer of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear do all this? My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason; to create a world and intervene in it. And now it is complete_." The hood raised its head, looking around in majesty, "_This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. Good luck, players."_

Kayaba melted away, leaving everyone there in suspended shock. Someone cried out in distress, but Hisoka didn't hear them, he only saw the exit. He knew what he had to do. He had to get out. He ran before anyone else had really moved

This was real. This was only the beginning.


	2. One Month

It's been one month since the game was launched. Hisoka looked around, casting his gaze over to where the startling announcement was held and saw a lack of people. Two thousand had died in the past month and no-one had passed the first floor. He shuddered to think that one of those people was his sister; he hadn't seen her in the game. But then again, his sister was smart; she'd done this sort of thing before. She would be fine.

A cry brought Hisoka from his thoughts as he sat in the field. A wild boar ran at him, making him look up in shock. Getting to his feet, he readied his blade, a meat cleaver, much like the one he bought on the first day, except it was taller than Hisoka himself. He drags it out behind himself, and therefore, he sharpened it quite a lot. Preparing his sword skill, the boar was quickly taken down.

A shout from way over in the distance drew him away from the field; _it must be time for the meeting_. A few of the players were holding a meeting to see if they could get to the boss room, and what to do once they arrived. Naturally, Hisoka was intrigued. He wouldn't lie, he wanted to get out of the game as much as anyone. Hisoka sheathed the giant meat cleaver, making sure only the hilt was visible, so no-one knew of his secret weapon and took off at a run for the meeting, his dirty, cream coloured cloak billowing at his ankles. He pulled the hood tighter around his face.

At the meeting, there was around one hundred people, all sitting around the coliseum-like area, gathering around a tall man with blue hair. "Ok, let's get started, people! Thank you for coming today. My name is Diabel. I like to consider it my "job" as Knight." He pronounced proudly, to the laughter now erupting from the crowd. Hisoka admired Diabel, his dedication to the people who had only been here a month. With a serious look around, the company fell silent.

"Today, our party found the boss room at the top of the tower." This certainly did silence everyone, they were shocked at this development, and as such, let him continue. "We need to defeat the boss, reach the second floor, and tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game. Everyone present here shares this duty! Do you all agree?" At first there was silence, then a slow clap, it grew until it seemed everyone was cheering and whistling, much to Diabel's enthusiasm, "All right, then let us begin our planning. First, divide into parties of six. An ordinary party has no chance against a floor boss. We need to form raid groups using multiple parties. "

Hisoka choked on his next breath, looking around. He saw only two figures left, a hooded figure who seemed quiet, and Kirito, whom he had spoken to many times previously as they had encountered one another while hunting.

He watched as Kirito scooted over to the hooded figure and asked her to join his group, to which she accepted.

"What about  
him?" Hisoka hear Kirito ask the hooded figure, looking up, Hisoka saw they were pointing to him. Hisoka's eyes widened and Kirito tipped his head to the side, analysing the teen on the other side of the seats.

"Were you left out?" Kirito asked Hisoka, to which the boy replied,

"I'm not a fan of crowds, or people." Hisoka smiled wryly, watching the people below laugh away in blissful unawareness.

"A solo player?" He asked, making Hisoka laugh,

"You could say that." Hisoka's hands moved through the air fluidly, bringing up the menu. He realised that there was no real way to get through to the next floor on his own. He sent an invite to both Kirito and the hooded woman, who both accepted. In the corner of his screen read:

Hisoka

Kirito

Asuna

So this was who he would be working with.

"Ok, have you formed your parties?" Diabel asked them, "then-" He was cut short by a shout from the top of the seating plateau, a man jumped from where he was, down to the centre, facing Diabel.

"My name's Kibaou." He announced, pointing to himself, "I want to say something before we take on the boss. Some of you here need to apologies to the two thousand who have died so far!" He pointed into the crowd, Hisoka clenched his teeth together and Kirito turned away.

"Kibaou," Diabel turned to Kibaou, "Are you referring to the beta testers?" Kibaou's face twisted into an ugly mask,

"Of course I am! On the day this stupid game started, the beta guys ditched us beginners, and they all disappeared. They took all the good hunting spots and easy quests for themselves, so only they could get stronger. And then, they just ignored the rest of us." Hisoka thought back, remembering slaughtering animals for food while people were still in shock, but allowed Kibaou to continue. "I'm sure someone here was in the beta!" He shouted, suddenly very angry, "They should get to their knees and apologize, and give up all the items and money they've hoarded. Otherwise, we can't trust them to protect us as party members, and they shouldn't trust us."

"I never trusted you, anyway." Hisoka muttered under his breath, Kirito turned to him, eyebrow raised,

"What was that?" He asked, making Hisoka feel rather ashamed,

"Nothing." They stopped speaking as an interruption came in the form of a tan, bald man.

"May I speak" He asked, he walked down to the stage, war hammer on his back. "My name is Agil." He turned to face his audience, "Kibaou, let me see if I get this right. You're saying that because the beta testers didn't take care of them, many beginners died. That they should take responsibility, apologise and provide compensation. Correct?" His smooth, deep voice had a certain edge that made the crowd tremble.

"Y-yeah." Kibaou looked rather scared at the towering figure of Agil, who produced a small book from his back pocket.

"You got this guide book, didn't you? It was provided for free at the item store."

"Sure I did… Why?" Kibaou scoffed,

"It was compiled from information given by the beta testers. Listen. Everyone had equal access to this information. And still, many players died. I thought the topic of discussion here was what we could learn from their deaths, and how that can help us defeat the boss." Agillooked around at everyone, almost demanding a response. Kibaou sat down, disgruntled.

"All right, then, can we resume?" Diabel asked, smiling at the crowd, "The latest edition of that guide book was just issued, and it contains information of the boss. According to it, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord." Diabel flipped through his own copy of the guide, "He is guarded by assistants known as Ruin Kobold Sentinels. He is armed with an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars and when the last one enters the red, he changes to a curved sword type weapon called a Talwar. His attack style changes as well." He closed the book, looking out over everyone, "This concludes the briefing. Lastly, items will be automatically distributed. EXP goes to the party that defeats the monster. And whoever receives an item keeps it. Any objections?" He looked around, expecting none, none he got. "Ok, we leave tomorrow, at ten in the morning. See you there."

As everyone began to move around, Hisoka and Kirito saw Asuna get up and left without a word. Hisoka turned the other way, ascending the flight of stairs and jumping into the adjoining field.


	3. First Night of the Rest of Your Life

Hisoka pointed the smaller knife at the pork in front of him, cutting it up with a flash of light. Sitting there, in front of the teen, was a tender roast pork, cut to perfection. He took the meat and ladled it into the cauldron of boiling water.

"You! More pork soup. Order for… Kirito." The tall player read off the slip of paper in his hand, making Hisoka sigh, bowing his head so his face was hidden even more so of the shadow of his cloak.

"Yes, sir." He said, pulling another strip of meat from the animal behind him and proceeding to cut it.

"Wait, the customer wishes to talk to you." Hisoka's employer opened the door, allowing for the figure of one Kirito to be visible. He looked through slightly closed eyes at Hisoka. Hisoka continued to cut the pork. Kirito came into the kitchen, taking a roll of bread from the pile next to the shorter, blonde haired boy. Hisoka cried out, snatching the roll before it touched Kirito's lips.

"That's for the customers." He said, quietly, placing the bread roll carefully on the top of the pile. Kirito gave him a coin, taking a bread roll for himself. Hisoka didn't look up.

"Why are you here, that man obviously dislikes you." Kirito leans on the bench beside him, chewing slowly on the bread. Hisoka laughs, grimly,

"What don't you get about this game, you have to survive. If I wanted to, I would be the boss of this place; I've been working here since day one. Pork soup is the only food I've ever truly liked… Sort of a guilty pleasure, I guess. Then again, I killed that pig, maybe it's that things taste sweeter when you've killed it yourself." Hisoka jerked his thumb over his back to the skinned pig carcase hanging on the wall, "But I need to survive. I can almost afford a house." Kirito finished the bread in a few bites, looking at Hisoka,

"You're so strange." He finally told the gold haired boy, making the hair on the back of Hisoka's neck stand up.

"In what way?" Hisoka asked, his left hand unconsciously brushing across his bandaged chest, something Kirito did not notice.

"I don't know yet." Kirito said. The two stayed silent, only broken by the flashes of light from Hisoka's knife as he added more pig to the boiling water.

"We need to leave early in the morning. Are you ready?" Asked Kirito, Hisoka nodded not looking up from his task. Kirito pulled out two coins, placing them next to the first and put the two bread roll into his inventory before leaving. Hisoka watched the door close and felt something stir within him, something real, in the virtual world. With that, he grabbed the coins and continued cutting,


	4. Beater

"So, let's go over it again." Kirito, Asuna and Hisoka were walking along the forest path behind Diabel and his men. Kirito beside Asuna, Hisoka trailing behind. "We leftovers are supposed to target the boss's helpers, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels."

"I know." Asuna muttered, her dark cloak trailing behind her. Hisoka watched the light catch the cloak as Kirito kept talking,

"I'll use a sword skill to knock their pole axes up. The second I do, you two switch in." He said, making Hisoka stop,

"Why can't we attack Illfang?" The other two kept walking, almost as if they hadn't heard Hisoka.

"Switch?" Asuna asked, making Hisoka sigh and run to catch up with them,

"Is this the first time you've ever been in a party?" He asked Asuna, watching her as they walked,

"Yes." She replied, then continuing silently. Hisoka smiled to himself, going over and rubbing her shoulder. The touch felt odd and distant, it made Hisoka shudder, and he had never liked _people_, so he retracted his hand and smiled at Asuna. They walked in silence, Kirito seemed awfully exasperated, but Hisoka didn't mind, just waited until he had caught up and trailed behind, as always.

When they reached the tower, Asuna gasped at the sheer size of it, the marble pillar. Everyone in the parties had gathered in a dingy room, Diabel in front of the door that lead to the boss, supposedly.

Striking his sword into the ground, Diabel looks around at everyone, "Listen up, everyone. I only have one thing to say. Let's win!" He clenched his fist, smiling triumphantly. "Let's go!"

He pressed his palm against the door and it swung open, revealing a dank room with a lone figure at the end, sitting on a throne. As soon as the door had finished opening, the figure jumped off its chair and landed in front of Diabel, a name flashing from it,

Illfang the Kobold Lord

The room burst with colour and Hisoka clenched his eyes closed before quickly opening them once more, just in time to see Kirito smirking at him.

Illfang growled and little animals seemed to pop up everywhere with the title,

Ruin Kobold Sentient

The monsters ran, but Diabel was just as quick, shouting commands at all of the people there, including Hisoka, Asuna and Kirito. They sprang into action, Kirito taking the lead. Once he had knocked back the axes of two of the Ruin Kobold Sentients, Asuna and Hisoka sprang into action.

"I-I thought they were beginners!" Kirito watched in awe as Asuna sliced one in through the side and Hisoka split the skull and the creature in half.

"Asuna is so precise and where -" He did a double take, "- Where did Hisoka learn that?" He was shocked to see the weapon taller than Hisoka himself.

With those dealt with, everyone turned on the Kobold King. The third life bar deteriorated as the fourth entered the red, the boss threw away his sword and shield, yelling as he did so.

"Looks like that information was right…" Kibaou smirked, sword at the ready, before a shout came from behind them,

"Stand back!" It was Diabel, running with his sword to strike. He paused at the edge of the clearing of people where Illfang was, letting his attack charge.

Illfang drew a sword from his belt, but not a Talwar! The odd shaped blade gleamed in the light as Kirito and Hisoka stared at it in shock - it's a No-Daichi.

"No! Jump back as fast as you can!" Kirito called, as Hisoka cried,

"Get back! Get back!" Kirito's head snapped to Hisoka, who then realised that when stressed, her voice rises to its original pitch and she sounds like a girl - _he_ - he sounds like a girl. At this moment, Hisoka realises that there are bigger things to worry about, such as a man possibly dying close to them.

They turn their attention back, frozen to the spot. The Kobold King jumped from pillar to pillar, sword aloft, until finally coming down and bringing it down to slice Diabel's torso, knocking him into the air and to the ground. Kirito ran to Diabel's aid while Hisoka and Asuna began to fight off Illfang.

Illfang was swiping at everyone; Hisoka ground his teeth together, feeling the urge to keep attacking building within him. As Diabel's life bar reached zero, Kirito clenched his sword tightly, standing with a new resolve in his eyes.

"I'll come too." Asuna murmured, making Hisoka nod grimly,

"And me." He said, readying the meat cleaver.

"Thanks." Kirito didn't even turn to them; rather, he faced the monster. The three of them ran, side by side. "We'll do it, just like with the sentinels." Kirito commanded.

"Roger." Hisoka replied, pulling back slightly,

"Got it." Asuna kept in step with Hisoka, so Kirito could strike. Kirito lifted his blade as the skill charged, fending off Illfang while Asuna and Hisoka ran at the giant red beast.

Asuna stabbed the beast, who brought his blade down to chop her, but Asuna dodged quickly, her cloak getting sliced, and she was revealed, auburn hair shining in the fragments, amber eyes glowing as she charged her skill once more.

Hisoka and Kirito were fixated; she was beautiful, sword at the ready as she stared intently at the beast. Hisoka once again felt inadequate to this beauty, once again hating his true form. Pulling the cloak tighter around himself, he ground his teeth together,

"He's coming back!" Kirito cried, going to fend off another of his attacks, this time, Asuna allowed Hisoka to take the attack, Hisoka raised his blade, fending off one attack, but the Kobold Lord was too fast for Hisoka, striking him down and taking his left arm.

Thrown backwards, Hisoka's life bar quickly drains, he can barely lift his remaining arm to open the menu and get a health potion. With shaking fingers, he uncorks the crystal vial and drinks, before passing out.

The others in the group watch as Kirito fends off the attacks, one after the other, until he's finally struck back and falls into the arms of Asuna. The two of them topple to the ground. Illfang raises his sword above his head, growling menacingly, preparing to strike.

Agil runs to save them, fending off the red boss with a swipe of his war hammer and a mighty cry. The others swing into action to help keep Illfang at bay until Kirito has recovered.

It takes less than a minute for the raven-haired teen to recover, going in to strike at the boss so his struggling team will survive. Illfang crashes to the ground, Kirito running at him, eyes ablaze.

"Asuna! One last hit! We'll do it together!" Kirito cried, running as fast as he could towards the boss monster.

"Roger!" Asuna shouted, sprinting to the end of the hall where the boss was. The two of them sliced and diced the boss, diagonal cuts ending his life as an AI on a horrific game. He bursts into thousands of little pieces, casting light over the hall as a 'Congratulations' sign appears in the air.

The only sound Kirito hears is his own heavy breathing, as he catches his breath, adrenaline coursing through his veins.

Congratulations. You got the last attacking bonus.

The screen read, followed by:

Bonus Item; Coat of Midnight

Kirito breathes a sigh of relief, before seeing that Hisoka's life bar was flashing red. He ran to Hisoka, whose blade is tossed several metres away.

"Hisoka! Hisoka!" He cried, flipping through his menu and producing a vial of Health Potion. He pressed it to Hisoka's lips and sighed as the life bar slowly went back to green. Pulling back the now torn and dishevelled arm of Hisoka's cloak, Kirito saw where there was now a red, glowing stump where Hisoka's left arm should be. It would regenerate soon enough. "You were a beta tester... What did you think you were doing?" He whispered to the unconscious teammate.

"Is he ok?" Asked Asuna, walking over and placing a hand on Kirito's shoulder.

"He will be." Kirito said, standing up,

"Hey, good work." Asuna smiles at Kirito, who smiles back,

"That was excellent swordsmanship. Congratulations." Agil smiles also, "This victory belongs to you." To which Kirito shook his head.

"Why?" Came a shout from the other end of the room, Kiabou sat like a small, unhappy child, "Why did you let Diabel die?"

"Let him die?" Kirito asked, turning his back on Hisoka whose eyelids fluttered open.

"Of course!" Kibaou ground his teeth together, "You knew that technique the boss used! If you'd told us about that up front, he wouldn't have died!" The others murmured in a sheep-like manner, before one called out that he must be a beta tester.

"That's how he knew all the boss's attack patterns." The man cried, stirring outrage within the crowd. "He knew, but he didn't tell us! Other beta testers are here, too, right? Come out! Show yourselves!" He cried. The crowd looked doubtfully at one another, before a voice came from the back of the room.

"So what?" Everyone turned to look at where is had been heard, a small figure in the crouching position wearing a large cloak was there. "I said, so what. I'm a beta tester." As they straightened up and turned around, the cloak fell off, there stood Hisoka, cleaver in hand, tattered cream clothing beneath. "What are you going to do about it?" He watching in fascination as his arm grew back. Flexing his fingers. Kirito's every briefly held relief, but then exasperation,

"You really think you're that good of a player? You almost died!" He then turned away from Hisoka, "I wish you wouldn't compare me to those newbies." He said, standing straight and directing his attention to Kibaou. "Most of the thousand beta testers were beginners who didn't even know how to level up." He walked through a parted sea of people as Hisoka ground his teeth.

"You guys are better than they are." Kirito continued, "But I am not like them. I made it higher than anyone else during the beta test. The reason I knew the boss's skills is because I fought monsters with katana skills on floors far above us. I know far more. Way more than any information broker." He grinned at Kibaou, unwilling to face Asuna or Hisoka.

"W-what? That's way worse than a beta tester!" Kibaou sounded shocked and scared, sweat dampening his forehead. "You're cheating! A cheater!" He cried, causing the crowd to begin to get riled,

"A beta tester and a cheater… A beater!" One man called.

"A beater… I like it." Kirito smiled, "That's right," He said to the crowd's shock, "I am a beater. From now on, don't confuse me with the other testers." Kibaou's eyes flicked to Hisoka as Kirito scrolled through his menu, placing the cloak of midnight on with a flourish.

Hisoka scoffed, why would a stupid cheat get so much attention. He began to walk up the stairs towards the exit. Opening his menu, he pulled out a second health potion bottle.

Kirito walked towards the door Hisoka was about to exit through, when Asuna raced after him.

"Wait." She said to Kirito, "You called my name when we were fighting." She said, standing two steps below him.

"Sorry for just using your first name." Kirito said, quietly, "Or did I mess up the pronunciation?" He turned to her slightly.

"Where did you learn it?" She whispered, looking up at him.

"You can see another two HP gauges below yours, around here, right?" Kirito pointed to where they were on his screen. "Isn't something written next to it?" He asked.

"Ki-ri-to… Kirito?" She says, "Is that your name?" She asks, not hearing Hisoka's exasperated sigh,

"Yeah." Kirito murmurs as Asuna breaks out into a grin, giggling.

"Oh, it's been there all this time!"

"You'll be really strong." Kirito turns his back on Asuna, "So if someone you trust ever invites you to join a guild, and don't turn them down. There's a big limit to what you can do as a solo player." Kirito flicks his eyes to Hisoka, who is looking through his own menu.

"Then, what about you?" Asuna asked, to which Kirito just walks away. Opening his menu, he opens the 'Party' section. Hisoka watches as he is given the option to disband. He clicks yes. Both Asuna and Kirito's name disappear from Hisoka's view.

Asuna walks back, sadly as Kirito approaches Hisoka. "Something tells me, we'll meet again." Kirito says, making Hisoka roll his eyes.

"I pray that day never comes." He pressed his lips into a firm line.

"I did save your life." He said, finally looking up from his feet. Hisoka was there, filing through his menu. Clicking on an item, a white mask appears in his hands.

"I never thanked you." Hisoka snapped, adding venom to his words. He adjusts the straps to the mask, he pushed it onto his face, and it covered it entirely, it just being a plain white mask, expressionless, like a mannequin. Walking into the darkness beyond the door, Kirito watched Hisoka go.


	5. Red Knight

Kirito sat at a table while the guild called Moonlit Black Cats cheered Kirito saving their lives. Kirito frankly felt awkward as they thanked him so many times, it felt odd. He passed it off, making them laugh kindly at his modesty.

"How would you like to join our guild?" The head of the Moonlit Black Cats smiled at him, having heard that Kirito is without a guild, "The only one we have who can occupy the vanguard is Tetsuo, a mace user. Her name is Sachi." He patted Sachi on the head, who looked rather embarrassed, I'd planned to have her switch to sword and shield use, so she could fight in the front. But she says she says that she really isn't sure how. Do you think you could show her the ropes?" He rested his hand on Sachi's head, which shrunk her neck into her shoulders slightly,

"Don't talk about me like I'm useless. I can't go out and fight in the front rank. I'd be scared. Let the Red Knight go."

"Just hide behind your shield. You've always been a scaredy-cat." This made the others laugh as Sachi fumed, "Everyone is from our school's PC Research Club, apart from the Red Knight." He brushed it off, "But don't worry, you'll fit in soon." Everyone looked expectantly at Kirito, who clenched his hands into fists,

"Okay, then I will join after all… thanks!" He brightened up, before he furrowed his brow again, "Who's the Red Knight?"

"He was looking around here for a while, worked in the armoury at night, killing monsters by day… Nice guy. Doesn't speak… at all. Wears red. We asked him to join our guild and he accepted… Doesn't come out of his room from nine 'till morning." The head of the guild said, thinking,

"What's his name?" Asked Kirito, puzzled. Something seemed familiar about this.

"We don't know… Everyone just calls him the Red Knight. We don't even know his level." The head of the guild shook his head, dispelling the thought, "Welcome to the guild, let's do the best we can!"


	6. Training for Sachi

Up on Floor Twenty-Two, the Moonlit Black Cats slashed and hacked at a giant grasshopper. Sachi gave a slight squeak seeing the red glowing eyes the grasshopper glared at them with, another as it opened its mouth and spat venom at her. She raised the shield to cover her face as the grasshopper hit her shield.

"Sachi, get back." Kirito told her, running over and slicing the grasshopper's pincer off. His sword was knocked out of his hand, and he called over his shoulder, "Tetsuo, switch!"

The one called Tetsuo switched in, dealing the final blow to the grasshopper. A 'congratulations' screen appeared, announcing he had also levelled up.

"It says here that the lead group made it past floor twenty eight." Keita lay on the ground, holding a newspaper up to the light to read. Kirito sat beside him, his mind lost in thought. "What's the difference between the lead group and us?" Brought out of his trance by the question, Kirito looks over at Keita.

"They all know the fastest ways to get EXP, and they don't share them." He grimaced. Keita let out a long sigh, closing his eyes.

"I'm sure that's part of it," He groaned, folding his arms over his chest. "But I think its will power."

"Willpower?" Kirito tipped his head to the side, a look of genuine interest on his face.

Keita sat up, looking out over the rolling hills and smiling, "I suppose you might say it's a determination to protect one's friends… No, everyone. Right now, they're still protecting us." He smiled over at Kirito. "But I'd like to think my will is just as strong. Naturally, our first priority is our friends' safety. But someday, we want to make it up there, to the top, with the rest."

"I see." Kirito said, slowly, admiring the tall man's ambition to help. "You're right."

"Heh, maybe…" Keita said, scratching his head.

"Hey, leader," Ducker jumped down from where he had been sitting, "looking good!" He swooped down, putting his leader in a headlock.

"Come on…" Keita sighed, but couldn't keep the grin off his face.

"So we're going to be up there with the Holy Dragon Alliance and the Knights of the Blood Oath?" Tetsuo grinned,

"What?" Keita asked, moving Ducker's arm so he could see, "There's nothing with setting big goals. First, we'll all hit level thirty."

He announced, to which Sachi cried, "That's impossible!" As Kirito watched with a content look on his face, until he looked upon his own skill level, which was forty eight.

"I have announcement for you." Keita addressed them all when they had returned to the hotel the Red Knight had apparently booked for them, "As of our last hunt, we've saved twenty thousand Cor!" This was met with enthused smiles.

"Before too long, we'll be able to buy our own house!" Tetsuo did a small fist pump.

"Hey," Sasamaru raised her hand to get the attention of the group before speaking, "why don't we get more equipment for Sachi?" She asked, to which Sachi replied,

"No, I'm fine as I am." She felt heat flush her cheeks and didn't want to be a burden.

"Don't worry about it." Keita smiled down on his youngest guild member, "We can't make Kirito protect us forever." He grinned at Kirito, who gave a sad little smile back, not that it was really noticed.

"I'm sorry." Sachi clenched her fists into her skirt and she looked down at its hem.

"I don't mind." Kirito gave Sachi an encouraging smile. "Don't worry about it."

"Sorry, Kirito. Sachi, I know it's hard to switch jobs, but you're almost there." Keita turned his attention back to Sachi, before he clenched his fist, "Let's all do our best!"

Kirito left soon after that, he wanted time to think, needed to explore. He opened the door to his room with a creak before stepping out.

As he wandered, he had found himself on the Wolf Plains of Floor Twenty Eight, where the lead guild were rumoured to be. After a short discussion with Klein, who he was both happy and sad to see, he began to walk back, before seeing a brilliantly red figure running across an adjoining plain.

He chased after it, the wind rushing through his hair as his coat billowed out behind him. The figure ahead started to slow down; Kirito could feel his feet carrying him closer to the person in question.

"Y-you're a part of the Moonlit Black Cats?" He said, incredulously. The stranger allowed him to put two and two together. "You're the red knight!" He said, quietly. "Who are you?"

The figure ran, as fast as it could, holding up a teleportation crystal, there was a flash of blue light and they were gone.

Kirito headed back to floor twenty two and to the hotel, his head bowed as he thought. He heard a loud beep and opened the message that he had received:

_This is Keita, Sachi left and hasn't returned. We're heading to the dungeon area. If you learn anything, let me know._

His encounter with the Red Knight forgotten, Kirito left in search of Sachi. He opened his menu to the friend list, finding Sachi's name and tracking her.

He followed her footprints through the city to a small bridge, with a small Sachi huddled underneath.

"Sachi." He called out in relief, she look up, startled,

"Kirito." She said, quietly,

"Everyone's worried." He told her, moving closer with each step as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Hey, Kirito… Let's run away together." Sachi didn't look up from the water running past as Kirito answered.

"Run away from what?" He crossed his legs.

"From this town," Sachi whispers, her voice heavy and close to tears, "the monsters… From the Black Cats… From Sword Art Online."

Kirito's eyes were as wide as saucers, "D-do you mean a double suicide?" He choked out.

"That might be okay." Sachi let out a light laugh, before shaking her head, "No, I'm sorry. That was a lie. If I had the courage to die, I wouldn't hide within the safety of the town, would I?" She pauses for a minute, thinking over her own statement, "Hey, why can't we leave this place? Why do we have to die, even though it's a game? What's the point of this?" The tears began to for in the corners of her eyes, her hands felt like lead, too heavy to wipe them away.

"I don't think there is a point." Kirito looks over at the opposite wall, thinking over what Sachi had said.

"I'm afraid of dying." She whispered, so quietly she thought Kirito hadn't heard it.

"You're afraid of dying?" He gasped, softly.

"I'm so scared; I haven't been able to sleep lately." She drew her arms tighter around herself, like the cold of her nights could seep through to her now.

"You won't die." Kirito finally said,

"Really? How can you say for sure?" She asked her voice full of hope that Kirito didn't know if she could have faith in.

"The Black Cats is a strong guild. Our margin of safety is well above average. And Tetsuo and I are both here. There's no need for you to force yourself into the front ranks." Kirito clenched his hand as he spoke.

"I really don't have to die?" Damn, she sounded so hopeful, Kirito just wanted to keep her safe, "I can go back to reality some day?"

"Yeah. You aren't going to die. I'm sure they'll beat this game eventually." Kirito smiled at her, a genuine heart-warming smile, which she returned.

He watched as the tear fell from her eyelashes.


	7. Forgive my Other Self

Kirito ran a hand through his hair after taking Sachi back and informing Keita of what happened. The door at the very end of the hallway stood ajar. He walked over to it, aware that all the other rooms on this floor were taken up with members of the Moonlit Black Cats.

A small figure in a t-shirt and shorts sitting on the edge of the bed faces away from Kirito. He watches with his breath caught in his throat as something is removed from their face.

"A mask-" He whispers, before clapping a hand over his mouth. The figure stops, dead still, Kirito hardly daring to breath.

"You're the first one to sneak up on me of any sort." The figure laughed. Slowly turning around, the black eyes of a former ally hold laughter at Kirito.

"Hisoka?" Kirito whispers, to which Hisoka stares at him for a moment, before turning back around, opening his menu, and closing it once he had seen something. "What are you doing here?"

"I'd rather not say…" He sighs, pulling his grey jacket off the bed beside him and around himself. "I'm here to do what I need to do. To get out." Hisoka raised a single eyebrow, pressing his lips together in a tight smile. "Isn't that what you're doing?" Kirito examined Hisoka for a minute, pondering the meaning behind his words, unaware that Hisoka's insides were twisting with frustration and guilt at his constant lie.

"Hisoka, the Moonlit Black Cats are going to the dungeon tomorrow." Kirito said, softly, going and sitting on her bed. Kirito felt his face heat up as Hisoka trapped him in an intense gaze,

"Is that a code, of sorts?" He smiled, Kirito frowned,

"You're the Red Knight! You're their saviour." He cried grabbing Hisoka's shoulders and shaking them, frustrated at Hisoka's jovial attitude. Hisoka slapped him, growling,

"Don't _ever_ compare me to that fake. The Red Knight has never saved anyone in his life." Pulling the cleaver from his coat pocket, Hisoka points it at Kirito's chest.

"Where does that come from!?" Kirito cried, making Hisoka laugh which was very contradictory to his earlier growl and slap.

"It's quite like a Hyperspace Mallet." Hisoka pointed it at the door, his black eyes gleaming with a new and darker edge. Kirito analysed him quietly, before exiting through the door.

Hisoka watched as Kirito exits the room, sighing to himself. He walks over, closing the door and locking it. Removing his shirt, he unclipped the bandages from around his chest, stepping into the bathroom area. He removed all of his clothing, stepping into the shower area and turning on the spray of hot water. He stood there for a minute, resting his head against the white tiling, looking at his level - 46.

Running his hands over his feminine body as he cleaned himself of the exertions of the day, there was a creak from the room outside. Turning off the water, Hisoka dried himself, quickly slipping himself into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Opening the door, he saw a figure in a red cloak jumping through his window and out onto the roof.

Taking a running jump, Hisoka takes a running jump out of the window, grabbing his weapon during the arc. Landing on the opposite roof, he took off at a fast pace, watching closely as the figure would disappear around corners. The figure ran across the rooftops, Hisoka followed keeping up pace, the rough stone shingles stinging his bare feet as the limestone houses flashed beneath his feet. The wind whipped past as Hisoka squinted his black eyes in the dead of night.

People laughed in taverns and music played by bards filled the night. The figure turned around, flashing a smile like a killer at Hisoka, who was captivated by his glowing red eyes behind the half face covering mask of purest black. Adrenaline spitting in his veins, Hisoka ran as fast as his legs could carry him, sending shingles crashing to the ground, sparks flying as he dragged his sword against the exposed stone he left in his wake.

The figure leapt into the air at the edge of a building, descending to the ground, out of the city towards the forests. The dark trees allowed no light to touch the forest floor, though Hisoka could see as a red tinged entered his vision. Flipping over roots of trees, Hisoka chopped effortlessly through the monsters that blocked his path.

Finally, the figure turned around, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, "I knew you would follow." Flicking through their menu, they offered a duel to Hisoka, who reluctantly accepted. They smiled, throwing a set of shuriken which Hisoka was unable to dodge, pinning him to the ground. The red cloaked figure sauntered slowly up to Hisoka, who struggled against the bonds. Removing the mask, the red cloaked figure whipped her hair golden back and forth, freeing it so it spilled around her face.

"Ah, better." She said, sighing. Hisoka felt himself stop struggling and gaze up at her in awe,

"Mutsa?" He asked, quietly, making her cackle.

"Oh, Hoshi-Chan," Mutsa sighed, using Hisoka's real name, "You know so little." Taking a careful look through her inventory, she selected a paralysis potion, forcing it through Hisoka's lips. Hisoka felt his limbs go numb and looked to his sister.

"Never use that name." Hisoka growled, closing his eyes. Mutsa flicked through her menu before selecting a dagger, a nice one, wrought from silver and jewel encrusted.

"But Hoshi-Chan, that's who you really are," She smirked, getting closer to her sister. "Don't deny it." She made a quick slice, cutting Hisoka's shirt open, to which Hisoka cries out, not having time to bandage her chest before chasing Mutsa. Mutsa pouted. "Bruised and red, why do you hide them, bandage them up?" She cooed, to which Hisoka wouldn't dignify a response. Mutsa shrugged, "No matter, the Laughing Coffin wants you dead; dead you shall be, as your true self."

"What happened to you?" Asked Hisoka, finally opening his mouth, buying himself time with his words.

"Oh, nothing happened to me, sister. This is _my _true form. I hide it from the world because they would lock me up. Not here, not where I can kill all of you… One… By… One." She plunged the dagger into Hisoka's hand, making Hisoka writhe in terror, and scream as a burning replaced the numbness of her hand.

"You're crazy!" Hisoka screamed, making Mutsa laugh,

"Oh, Hoshi-Chan, why would you want to be a boy?" Mutsa smiled down at her sister, who flared her nostrils,

"I it's just the way I am. Why can none of your stupid family see that?" Hisoka bared his teeth as Mutsa plunged the dagger into his other hand.

"I'm sorry to say, _sister_, you _will _die a girl." Mutsa picked up the dagger once more, not before the paralysis potion wears off and Hisoka feels his being overcome with such a rage that he catches Mutsa's arm before the dagger hits his chest. Mutsa's eyes widen. "No." Hisoka smirked, using his other hand to go into his menu and replace his shirt.

"You never thought I'd get out. You know my level is higher. Now it is my turn." He breaks free, watching as his sister is frantically looking for a weapon, which she finds as he picks up his meat cleaver. Smiling at her, she smirks back,

"You should not have let me get a sword. You should have killed me while you had the chance." She raises her sword; running forward Hisoka stood his ground, not moving.

"You don't get it, do you?" He laughed. Mutsa kept running, striking her sister as Hisoka jumped lightly out of the way, knocking Mutsa onto her back. Hisoka pinned her down, plucking the sword from her grasp. Mutsa whimpered, making Hisoka smirk. "You're scared." He stated.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Mutsa tried to stop the tears that formed in her eyes, but Hisoka was sitting on her back, feet on her arms.

"That's quite all right, Commander Crying." Hisoka spat, moving a foot from her left arm to instead, kick her hard in the back of the head. Pressing her face into the dirt, Hisoka leaned into his sister, whispering in her ear, "I'm going to make you hurt." He was surprised at himself for the monster he had become in his rage, but the red tinges at the edge of his vision told him this was a _very _good idea.

He started with hacking off all of his sister's precious hair. She had taken much pride in it, making it as perfect as possible. Even now, as it fell to the floor, it was soft and silky in Hisoka's fingers. Mutsa wailed and Hisoka continued cutting at her hair. Flipping her over, Mutsa screamed and spat in disgust at her own sister.

"How can you do this to your own sister?" She screamed, making Hisoka feel outraged,

"You did the exact same thing to me?" He said, to which Mutsa spluttered,

"That's not fair!" She moaned, making Hisoka chuckle, before becoming deadly serious,

"_Life_… Isn't fair." He grunted, cutting off one of his sister's hands, watching the severed limb glow and explode. "Now we're stuck in this stupid _game._" He sliced off the other hand as Mutsa cried, her tears streaming down the sides of her face as she cried out in pain every few seconds.

"Please, stop. Sister! Please!" She moaned her life bar getting dangerously low, "Would you do this to your family?" She whimpered. Hisoka smirked,

"You really don't get it. I have no family." He spat, aiming his cleaver at Mutsa's head, making her cry out once more.

"Brother! Forgive me." She sobbed her head wriggling as she writhed in pain, "Brother! Forgive me!"

"I don't forgive." Hisoka spat, slicing down at Mutsa's neck, watching as her life bar retreated to zero. She screamed out one more time before she exploded into thousands of tiny shards. Hisoka felt his breath catch in his throat, _No, she would have done the same to me _he told himself, before smiling at the 'duel won' screen.

Level Up - Hisoka

46 - 47

Bonus Item; Cloak of Souls

Hisoka looked at the cloak now in his possession, a deep, blood red. He flicked through some options before changing it to grey. This was _his _cloak of souls - not hers.


	8. Red-Nosed Reindeer

Hisoka looked up at the giant Christmas Tree, marvelling at the vast amount of lights the creator had managed to squeeze onto it. Pulling his cloak off himself and putting it into his inventory as he watching the snow drift around and settle on the bare skin of his arm. Smiling as the chill began to wash around him, he used his listening skill to scoop some information.

"They say that Nicolas the Renegade has an item much like that." He heard quiet, tell-tale whisper of an information broker. Peering around the corner, his heart stopped, a small boy in a dark cloak was facing a guy with black hair and a dark jacket; Kirito.

"Who's Nicolas the Renegade?" Kirito asked the information broker, his eyes focused on the tree in front of him, the baubles reflected in his gaze. Hisoka hadn't seen Kirito in at least six months, not since that… night. He sounded different, almost… Broken.

"An event. They say he appears beneath a certain fir tree." The information broker turned around, looking to the forest. Kirito followed his gaze, Hisoka strained his ears to hear the conversation, wishing to soak up all the information he could.

"So, it will really bring back the dead?" Kirito asked, making Hisoka gasp, softly, not at that news, but Hisoka could have another chance if he died. This could be the one thing he needed. Hisoka adjusted the mask on his face, watching out of the corner of his eyes,

"It wasn't in the beta test, no-one knows for sure." The information broker told Kirito. Hisoka jumped out of his hiding place, running towards the line of fir trees, he saw both Kirito and the information broker turn to him, Kirito's eyes widen in shock.

Hisoka thanked himself on the initiative to wear good climbing clothes as he swung himself from branch to branch, using momentum to gain height and move through the trees to the tallest one there, all the way at the edge of the floor. Climbing to the top of the nearest tree, Hisoka surveyed the surrounding area before deciding to set up camp. Knowing Kirito, he is going to prepare, and Hisoka thought himself best to do so.

_Do you really want this for yourself? _Hisoka looked up, wondering where the voice had come from, before he realised it was from his own head.

"What do you mean?" He whispered, _you want her back, you want your sister._ The voice was snide and smug, making Hisoka shake with anger, "Wrong. She died because of her own stupidity. She shouldn't have chased me. Not at all."

_She's still family. _The voice whispered, making Hisoka's throat tighten, "I have no family."

_You're right. What does it matter, anyway? Just remember this, you _will _die a girl. In this game. _The voice hissed, before fading out. Hisoka opened his menu, looking at himself in the mirror he had received on the first day, seeing the permanently orange player signal hovering above his head. Looking up, Hisoka heard the beating of footsteps and saw a dark figure running towards him. Hiding further up in the trees, he saw Kirito approaching. Holding his breath, he watched as the teen stopped in a clearing, waiting for something to happen.

There, in the snow, appeared a group of men, headed by Klein. "Yo." The red-head called the casual greeting out to the Beater.

"You followed me?" Kirito asked, tipping his head to the side, his breath coming in short puffs.

"Yeah. You're after the revival item?" Klein passed it off as if it was nothing, hands on his hips as he surveyed the landscape and Kirito.

"Yeah." Kirito looked at the ground,

"Don't risk your life on a stupid rumour." Klein noticed Kirito's demeanour, his down attitude. "If you die in the game, you die for real." His expression hardened as he repeated the words.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Hisoka couldn't take it anymore; he jumped from the tree so he could lean up against it.

"You're welcome, Sargent Sarcasm." Klein frowned, but was cut off by Hisoka,

"We're not idiots, we know that when our HP drops to zero our brains get fried-"

"Shut up." Kirito's voice was barely a whisper, but it made Klein stand stock still. Hisoka rolled his eyes,

"Going solo is crazy! Join us." Klein offered Kirito, Hisoka snorted derisively,

"What about me?" He barked,

"Y-your player marker… It is permanently orange." Klein stuttered, looking at Hisoka, who spat,

"I've come too far and lost too much to be caught up by you. I just wanted to be offered. Until next time, _beater_." He waved to Kirito, who watched him with a squinted glare.

Hisoka ran through the snowy fields, his shoes leaving footprints in the snow. Reaching the first branch, he launched himself into the air, sitting on the lowest branch until Kirito had arrived.

The bells began to chime and Hisoka looked up at the tree as he stood beside Kirito. The ringing of sleigh bells and white streaks through the sky brought a man, much taller than either of them, dressed in red and white with unhealthy blue skin. He roared as his life bars filled up.

"What are you doing here, Hisoka, you don't need this." Kirito shouted as he drew his sword.

"Life here is tough, I'm trying, and it's hard, not a lot of people know me… That's through my own fault though." Hisoka looks at the ground, pulling his cleaver out.

"You don't know me either, Hisoka." He sighed, watching as the boss's life bars flashed.

"That's my fault too, sorry…" Hisoka bit his lip, looking at the ground, making Kirito still, before raising his sword at the boss.

"Shut up and kill him." He whispered. The two ran at the boss, swords ablaze. They hacked and slashed, chopped and stabbed until the last bar fell to red. The boss pulled out a katana, heading straight for Kirito, who was completely blindsided. Hisoka jumped in front, seeing as his health was higher than Kirito's, and took the hit, getting up again with a wince and continuing to fight, smiling ever so slightly at the smile of relief Kirito shot him. The boss's health reached zero and Kirito received the final item bonus. Hisoka sat in the snow, mask in hand, waiting to catch his breath as Kirito walked away. Seeing his retreating figure, Hisoka felt his face get hot and the anger begin to sweep him, he had put just as much effort in, and he deserved that. Kirito passed through the divider, back to where Klein was, and Hisoka ran after him.

Hisoka saw Kirito stand in front of Klein, the resurrection crystal in hand, _his sister's life_, and he was about to pass it to Klein. Running and jumping into an army roll, Hisoka snatches it from the air.

"Hey! What the-?" Klein shouts as Hisoka reads the description of the item:

The target player can use this to resurrect a fellow player who's HP has dropped to zero within ten seconds.

Hisoka read the words over and over as Klein got up and ran over to him, taking it from Hisoka's now loose grip. Hisoka felt the tears stream down his cheeks and he fell to the side.

"Hisoka-?" Kirito called, to which Hisoka moaned,

"Don't call me that! It's not who I am! It's not who I am! And now she's dead!" He cried, silently, curling up and burying his face into his hand.

"Who are you then?" Kirito asked, a soft edge appearing in his voice, to which Hisoka choked out,

"I am a murderer." He kept whispering 'She's dead. She's dead. She's dead.' Over and over under his breath.

"Who's dead?" Asked Klein.

"My sister. She's dead. I killed her." Hisoka sobbed, making Klein and Kirito back away.

"What?" Kirito hissed, "You killed your own sister." Hisoka, realising how much he had revealed about himself, wiped his eyes, placing the mask back over his face, promising himself a long session of self-loathing tonight.

"My sister was a member of the Laughing Coffin, sent to kill me. It was the only way to survive. Knowing my luck, I will see you again." Hisoka turned and walked out of forest, picking up the revival crystal on his way, vowing that he would help no-one and _beat _that beater.


	9. Silver Knight

Hisoka yawned in the light filtering through the strands of hair that hung in front of his eyes. Looking around, he spotted the moon out of his window at the inn of floor thirty five.

"Please just be quiet." Hisoka groaned, part of him hoping they could hear, the other dreading it. A loud banging was heard from outside the room before a familiar voice,

"Silica, are you still up?" Hisoka's stomach dropped. He rolled over from lying on his back, sitting up and curling his knees to his chest.

"Kirito?" A female voice, rather young… Could it be, _Dragon Tamer Silica_? Hisoka felt his insides go cold, two of the people he really didn't want to see in the very next room.

"I forgot that I had more to tell you about Floor Forty Seven… Want to go over it tomorrow?" Kirito called to Silica, making Hisoka perk up, so they were going to the hill of memories. Hisoka crept out of bed, shifting to listen through his door.

"It's OK! I was just thinking about that…" He could hear Silica's bedsprings shift before there were footsteps. The creaking of a handle before it all stopped. Then there was an almighty crash and Silica's shout of "Just a second!"

Again, Hisoka heard footsteps and the turning of a doorhandle then another set of footstep and the conversation was no longer audible.

Creeping out of his bed, Hisoka stood silently and opened his door with a slight creak. He changed to a black set of clothing and pressed his ear to the door -

"What's that item, Kirito?" Silica asked,

"It's called a mirage sphere." Kirito said, Hisoka could see a blue glow emendating from beneath the door.

"It's so pretty!" Hisoka rolled his eyes at Silica's statement.

"Here's Floor Forty Seven's Town Area. And this is the Hill of Memories. So we'll be following this route… "Kirito faded out and a worrisome sensation spread throughout Hisoka. He heard footsteps and ran to the edge of the hall as Kirito burst through the door.

"Who's there?" He called, looking around. He saw Hisoka jump over the banister to the first floor of the inn before Kirito turned back to Silica, saying something Hisoka didn't catch because he was being dragged from the inn by his collar Hisoka was fighting as much as he could; despite the fact this woman had paralysed him. A woman's voice hissed in his ear once they were in the shadows away from the city.

"What did you hear?" Hisoka keeps his face emotionless as she reversed the effects of the paralysis. Hisoka stood tall,

"What's in it for me?" He said, quietly, making the woman grind her teeth, thinking.

"Your life." She said, pulling a dagger from her belt, holding the cold blade to Hisoka's neck, who pushed the dagger away, reminding himself that he couldn't snap in public, so he just stood there, pulling his cleaver from its sheath.

"Don't pick a fight with someone who has nothing left to lose." The woman felt the cold steel of a blade biting into the skin of her stomach, just a light cut, but she recoiled, "Now, Rosalia." Hisoka turned to face the red haired woman, who gasped at the mention of her name, "I want to make a deal."

"How do you know my name?" Rosalia snarled, making Hisoka look at her with an unblinking gaze.

"I make a point to know names." Is all the explanation that Hisoka offers. Surveying Rosalia, he tips his head to the side. "Are you willing to make a deal?"

"Of course." Rosaline regains her composure, looking smugly at Hisoka. "What do you want?"

"Information on the Laughing Coffins." Hisoka turned away from Rosalia, flexing his fingers.

"I'm but a member of Titan's Hand. I don't deal with them." Rosalia brushed it off, putting a hand on her hip.

"Untrue." Hisoka said, looking over his shoulder at the figure that was now frozen as she listened. "Your group would have more experience with them as you work in the same… area."

"All right, all I know is that they hang out around the lower floors, usually doing commission stuff." She waved her hand away,

"Well, it was like you thought, floor forty seven." Hisoka put his sword away, turning back around, he just looked up at the moon, analysing it, before going back to the inn.

Hisoka didn't sleep well for the rest of that night, his thoughts plagued with what he had heard in the other room. As he began to fit the pieces together, the story became more warped and he was up before dawn, pulling his white mask over his face, going to Floor Forty Seven himself to await Kirito and Silica.

They arrived, in their own, seemingly blissful, unaware world. Walking through the pastel coloured fields as Hisoka waited behind them for Rosalia to turn up.

"They're heading for the Hill of Memories, we can't let that brat and her accomplice leave here alive." Hisoka heard the whisper of Rosalia coming from the entrance, which is the point Hisoka takes off at a run after them.

Watching the fields flash past in sickening sweetness, Hisoka spots them at the top of the hill, taking the Pneuma Flower. Hisoka leapt into the trees, curling up before they turned around, only for Rosalia and her cronies to follow minutes later.

"That isn't going to happen, Rosalia… Or should I say, leader of the orange guild, Titan's Hand." Kirito had spotted Rosalia in hiding behind a tree, Silica was confused and rather scared, as Kirito explained how she could be in an orange guild and still have a green player marker, "And that was one of your friends last night, wasn't it?"

"Hardly." Rosalia laughed, as Silica cried,

"Then the same reason we were in a party for two weeks…"

"That's right. I was assessing its strength, while waiting for them to earn money from adventures. You were the prey I was most anticipating. It was unfortunate that you left," She caressed her weapon whilst speaking to Kirito, before turning back to the two, "but then you said you were getting a rare item. However, you knew all that, but went with her anyway. Are you an idiot? Or did she really seduce you?"

"Neither of the above. I've also been searching for you, Rosalia." Kirito said, quietly,

"What are you talking about?" Rosalia smiled at him,

"Ten days ago, you attacked a guild called the Silver Flags. Four people, all but the leader, died." Kirito looked to the ground, anger burning in his eyes,

"Oh, the ones with no money…" Rosalia twirled her hair around her finger, smiling devilishly at Kirito and Silica.

"Their leader went from warp point to the front lines, from morning until night, begging someone to avenge them. But he didn't want you killed. He wanted someone to jail you. Can you understand how he felt?" Kirito whispered through bared teeth, loud enough for everyone to hear him.

"Nope… What kind of idiot would take this seriously? There's no proof that killing someone here means they die in real life. Anyway, shouldn't you be more concerned for yourselves?" She clicked her fingers as the guild known as Titan's Hand emerged from behind a set of trees.

"Kirito, there are too many!" Silica looked scared, finally prompting a response from Hisoka, who jumped from his tree.

"Rosalia, she's thirteen." He said, prompting Rosalia to turn around suddenly,

"Oh, if it isn't the emotionless eavesdropper. I thought you didn't get into these sorts of situations." Rosalia hissed as Hisoka went and stood in front of Silica next to Kirito.

"Leave, Rosalia." Hisoka said, taking out his meat cleaver. Silica gasped,

"Kirito, who is that?" She asked when Kirito didn't make a move to stop Hisoka. Kirito simply said,

"Don't pick a fight with someone who has nothing left to lose." Kirito looked to Hisoka, who nodded. Turning to Silica, he said, "It's all right. Until I tell you to run, just keep the crystal ready. Stay put and watch." He walked away as Silica got her crystal.

"Okay, but… Kirito!" She cried, as Kirito and Hisoka advanced towards the guild.

"Are you ready, Hisoka?" Kirito asked, making the members of the guild chatter.

"Black clothes… A one-handed, no shield style. That can't be the Black Swordsman… That makes him… With his grey cloak, giant cleaver and empty mask… The Silver Knight." The members of the group looked scared, "Rosalia, these are two of the beaters who solo in the front lines, Kirito is in the lead group, and Hisoka has killed more people than the Laughing Coffin!"

"The lead group? The Laughing Coffin?" Silica whispered, horrified,

"Someone from the lead group wouldn't be down here! Go get them, and take everything they own!" Rosalia directed, as her men took up arms.

The men attack the two of them, Hisoka leaning still as they sliced away. When nothing happened, Hisoka sighed,

"It will take more than that to kill us. I am level seventy seven. I auto-regenerate health, and even if all seven of you focused on me, I would still regenerate faster than your attacks." He shrugged,

"As do I, I'm level seventy eight." Kirito announced, making Hisoka's teeth grind together as he tightened his grip on his sword. Taking a few seconds, he slashed through Kirito, causing 1,700 points of damage out of anger, though his face did not change.

"If you have questions, I'm at the same inn as you are." Hisoka said, walking away, quietly, not daring to look Silica in the eyes.


	10. In Her Memory

"Tell me everything." Hisoka sits on the bed, mask secure on his face, looking towards the window which lets in the cold night air, he barely feels it though. The door creaks open as Kirito is allowed access to the room, as he watches Hisoka from the doorway, arms folded.

"We often meet like this." Hisoka says, sitting upright, he patted the bed beside himself, waiting for Kirito to walk over. Kirito sat beside Hisoka on the bed, noting the way Hisoka balled up his fists and held them in his lap.

"Why are your hands twitching?" Kirito asks, making Hisoka's hands twitch. Hisoka looked at Kirito, his face emotionless and his knuckles going white as the moon splattered onto the bed and its occupants.

"I'm suppressing my emotions." Looking at Kirito, Hisoka took a moment to calculate his next response, "You asked me to tell you everything, so I will, as much as I can." He took a deep breath, looking out to the room as it reflected on his eyes. "I was the one who was listening at the door, who told Rosalia where you were headed, who ultimately ratted you out. I'm sorry."

Kirito gasped quietly, making Hisoka shift in his seat. Kirito's thoughts reeled before he sighed, "Why do they call you the Silver Knight?" Kirito asked, taking the conversation in a new direction.

"In honour of my sister. Who, like me, could only be her true self in a videogame. Unfortunately, her true self was a murderer." Hisoka felt his insides twitch, and his chest began to ache once more.

"You were so full of life, and now… You are so flat." Kirito took Hisoka's hand in his, before Hisoka flinched away.

"I've learned not to trust most people, I'd rather seem cold than a doormat. I don't need most of them anyway. This is a game. Just a game. Things get difficult, you get square eyes, and people die. Families die and they won't wake up." Hisoka whispered, adjusting his mask, wondering if it would catch his tears.

"You then stood up for Silica. Why?" Hisoka stood at Kirito's latest question, pacing the room, hands behind his back, wondering how to phrase his words.

"If someone could die who doesn't deserve it… I'll always step in to save an innocent… You said she was like your little sister… I lost my big sister, and, in a way, she lost her little sister… I didn't want you to do the same." Hisoka smiled sadly, trying not to think of Mutsa's face, and leaned against the open window, looking out at the moon. Kirito furrowed his brow, thinking over the words,

"When around others, you're such a different person." He whispered, Hisoka smiling if not sadly,

"After that first battle, I realised that you were trying to help others, not just yourself… I was playing for keeps. I decided that if I was going to play this, I was going to have one friend, and act like I did in the real world… Both parts are me; I just prefer to hide my game self. Kirito, I like you, so I want you to know all of me." Hisoka murmured, smiling. "Even my big sister didn't get that, but I have a feeling you'd get her little sister better than she did." Hisoka laughed, before covering his mouth, realising he said something wrong.

"You were a little sister?" He asked. Hisoka stood for a long while, leaning against the banister. Hisoka didn't give an answer, merely leaning out of the window and landing on his feet, he hit the ground running.


	11. Happy New Year

Hisoka walked through the streets of Selmburg, the ocean spray cooling him against the writhing body of people that all clambered to the waterfront. Every so often, someone would get too excited and topple in the water, Hisoka watched until their head bobbed above the surface before continuing on. The crowds thinned as the city drifted upwards towards the hill and the sea was left behind. Hisoka spotted as refuge on the awning of a closed shop. Hopping up quickly, Hisoka looked around, trying to spot a figure amongst the mass. As the night wore on the crowds became worse, Hisoka sighed, resigning himself to enjoying the fireworks from his perch.

"You look rather lonely." A smug voice said, making Hisoka smile to himself,

"I wonder why that is? I mean, I'm just sitting on an awning." He grinned at the ebony haired figure who was picking his way through the crowd to get the blue and white stripped awning. Kirito took a seat beside Hisoka, looking warily at the seat they now rested on.

"Are you sure this will hold us?" He asked, to which Hisoka scoffed, swinging slightly on the material.

"Of course, it was designed to be indestructible, I'm sure two people won't break it." Hisoka taps his knuckles on it, smiling, "Its close to midnight, though, we may not be on here long, rioting players always bash through at the last minute, scrambling to get any spot at all to see the fireworks. According to information vendors, their spectacular. The one thought that comes to mind when I hear that is '_how do they know, it wasn't in the beta test'_."

Kirito was silent for a moment, looking at their perch, before looking out at the crowds below, his gaze slowly moving to the ocean. "It may just be people getting their hopes up but… Its something that makes others happy, so that's what counts." He said, and Hisoka smiled sadly, pulling off his mask.

"That's all that really matters, I guess, that people don't lose their humanity in this barbaric world." Hisoka looked at his hands, flexing his fingers and watching as the muscles expanded and contracted, trying to sort out his own thoughts on this night.

"I think its simpler than that. I think this a little piece of familiarity." Kirito smiled softly. The things in Hisoka's head seemed to calm down and he just looked at Kirito, who was smiling at him. Hisoka grinned back, looking up at the sky. "What would they be doing now, in the real world, your family?" Asked Kirito, also looking at the sky. Hisoka thought for a moment.

"Grandfather is very old fashioned, he makes his own fireworks. He's like… Seventy… But he stays really fit so he's strong." He shook his head, frowning, "Grandmother would be making pork soup for the guests they have - a group of older couples who they celebrate the new year with. I would sit on the balcony and watch the fireworks being lit by tipsy grandparents and help put out any fires…" Hisoka smiled to himself, thinking upon the memory.

"What would Mutsa be doing?" Kirito asked, making Hisoka look up, something forming in his throat,

"Mutsa… Mutsa spends the nights - New Years Even included - doing homework in her room. She was going to High School a year early. She got a scholarship. I really don't think this year would be any different, even if I'm not there." Hisoka smiled up at the sky, watching as a single firework took off, exploding into a cloud of blue sparkles.

"_Sorry! It was a rouge one!" _A call rippled through the crowd, Hisoka laughing as Kirito watched, interested.

"Blue." Hisoka murmured, hand stretched out as a fizzle of the firework drifted into the bay.

"What about blue?" Kirito asked, making Hisoka turn, smiling slightly.

"Its my favourite colour." Hisoka chuckled, looking down at the awning_, It's the same colour as my bruises_ the thought flashes through Hisoka's mind, but he shuts it away. "That was the single reason I picked this awning out of all of them." He said, to which Kirito nodded. "What's yours, Beater?" Hisoka asked, to which Kirito stared at him.

"Why did you call me Beater?" He asked, to which Hisoka thought for a moment.

"Kirito and Hisoka sounds so formal… I just… I wanted to call you something… Nicer, I guess." Kirito watches him for a moment, eyes wide, before bursting out in laughter.

"Nicer? How is Beater nicer? _Huh, Cleaver?_" He asked, to which Hisoka chuckles,

"I like it." He said, punching Kirito lightly in the arm, making them both laugh lightly. "What about your family, Beater?" He asked, to which Kirito thought.

"My sister and mother would be spending the new year together, going out to watch the fireworks… This year… I don't know." He shrugged, opening the menu to see the time on his display. "Its two minutes to midnight." He said, quietly. Hisoka grinned.

The two waited in silence for the two remaining minutes of the year, watching as the people  
became more frantic, and the splashing of enthusiastic players became almost a drum beat. As the minutes became seconds, Hisoka grinned with anticipation, as did Kirito. The time grew to milliseconds and the fireworks went off with a bang - Hisoka laughing and clapping as Kirito smiled.

"Happy new year, Beater." Hisoka smiled, Kirito smiled back at him.

"What's your new year's resolution, Cleaver?" Kirito asked, to which Hisoka thought for a moment.

"To beat the beater." He said, quietly as Kirito gasped, but Hisoka just laughed, "I want to be the most feared player, more feared than any one of the Laughing Coffin - then again, with their dwindling numbers, I doubt that's hard. People already recognise me." He shrugged.

"I'm sure you will, eventually." Kirito smiled at Hisoka, watching the fireworks burst in mid air, watching as the crowd laughed and clapped in delight. "Happy new year, Cleaver." He said, making Hisoka grin.

"Happy new year, Beater." He swung his feet as he looked over the ocean, his stomach bubbling with excitement at the new year...

And possibly something else.


	12. Cleaver and Beater

Hisoka sprang to his feet, looking around the inn room for any signs of intruders. Seeing none, he allowed himself a brief smile at what the day brought; a new chance to follow the Lead Guild, to get closer to the Laughing Coffin, before placing his white mask upon his face and sealing away his emotions.

Making his way from the inn to the town centre, he took note of the time (three in the afternoon); he made his way down the summer lit pathway, spotting someone sitting on a stone wall. The figure smiled at Hisoka, who waved back.

"Hello there, Hisoka." The figure said, standing to greet the blonde teen.

"Hello, Kirito." He kept his voice as robotic as possible, before taking off his mask and breaking out into a grin, "_Beater_." He smiled. It had been almost six months since he had called Kirito that with any sort of malice, now it was more a nickname.

"How have you been, _Cleaver?_" Kirito responded in kind, calling Hisoka the exclusive nickname. Hisoka felt something flutter in his chest, something that had been growing stronger in the past few months especially.

In the past months, Kirito and Hisoka had run into each other more often than ever, actually become friends. Hisoka still wasn't comfortable with human contact - because of when his sister cut off his shirt and tried to kill him - but he was working on it.

Hisoka still hadn't told Kirito his secret, to be fair, he was taking that secret to the grave, killing anyone who knew. He hadn't told Kirito anything about his sister after that night, but listened when Kirito talked, sometimes going out questing with him.

"I've been revisiting levels, hunting bosses, the usual." Hisoka said, before spotting a sleeping body beside Kirito, "Who is that?" He hissed, watching as the woman's orange hair was splayed around her.

"That's Asuna." Kirito smiled down at Asuna, chuckling slightly, Hisoka replaced his mask, falling once more into his routine. Kirito looked up, "Cleaver, no." He cried as Hisoka went at a run to the forest.

Some would say Hisoka over reacted, but they didn't know him, they didn't know he was suffering from acute insomnia ever since his sister's death, or that he was struggling to determine if he may be gay, or that he was hunting down the largest PK group in Aincrad. He trudged through the forest before coming to a large tree; a young couple were kissing at it. He had the undeniable urge to throw rocks at them.

Grinding his teeth, he walked back to where Kirito was once again sitting on the fence. Kirito looked up at Hisoka, who forced a smile before it slipped off his face and he sighed, "Hey, Beater." He sat underneath the tree that Kirito was guarding; making sure that Asuna was not in his line of site.

"Hisoka?" Kirito asked, sitting back to back with Hisoka. Hisoka leaned back, closing his eyes and tugging at the sleeves of his grey robe.

"It… It's nothing." Hisoka yawned, watching as the sunlight filtered through the greenery. He thought for a minute. "What was your life outside of this craziness?" He sighed, making Kirito's breath hitch. Kirito eased into his words slowly, pondering Hisoka's reasoning for the question.

"Well… There's my little sister, I suppose. She's the national quarterfinalist in Kendo." Hisoka smiled slightly from beneath his mask. "And my aunt and uncle," Kirito continued, "My parents died when I was one." Kirito played with a blade of grass. "So they adopted me, took care of me." He sighed, making Hisoka furrow his brow.

"I wish I was adopted." He yawned, making Kirito gasp slightly, "I never knew my parents. Never. Grandfather keeps all that information from me apart from once showing me a picture of his daughter at the age of fifteen, promising we are related. I've always questioned it. Mutsa never does." Hisoka sighed, feeling Kirito tense against his back. The two sat back to back in silence. "Kirito?"

"Yeah, Hisoka?" Kirito twisted a blade of grass between his fingers, biting his lip. Hisoka stayed silent for a few minutes before he spoke once more.

"She's still dead." Hisoka said, clasping his hands in his lap, his knuckles turning white. Hisoka slumped slightly, rubbing his thumbs over his knuckles. Without a word, Hisoka stood, making Kirito fall on his back. Using his jump skill, he leapt into the trees. Kirito moved to sit on the fence.

"So, which guild is Asuna in?" Hisoka asked, calling out to Kirito. He looked up in the tree, where Hisoka had now climbed to the highest branch and leaned against it.

"Knights of the Blood Oath, can't you tell by their uniform?" Kirito replied, making Hisoka grin into the sun.

"I don't notice uniforms. I notice signatures." Hisoka said, watching the sun sink closer to the horizon, a golden glow coating his skin.

"Signatures?" Kirito half-gasped, making Hisoka's eyes widen. He moved to close himself into the trees more so, rustling them as he went. Hearing Asuna start, he looked down.

"Morning. Sleep well?" Kirito smiled at her, making Hisoka jump down to the lowest branch, swinging his legs over the top branch and readjust his mask. Asuna looked so cute and flustered; it made Hisoka's jaw tick.

"You think this is funny?" Asuna seethed, brushing the leaf out of her hair, doing a double take seeing Hisoka. "A red player?" Looking from Kirito to Hisoka, she sighed, resting her hand on the grip of her sword. "One meal." Hisoka, to hear Asuna better, jumped from his perch. "One meal." Asuna repeated. "I'll buy you both one meal of any kind. Then we'll be even, okay?"

Hisoka and Kirito looked at each other, bewildered (not that Hisoka's expression was visible) before Hisoka replied, off-handily.

"I don't eat." Asuna turned to Hisoka, eye twitching. She looked up and down his exceedingly thin stature and hissed,

"Never would have guessed." Venom filled her words and she stalked off. Hisoka wrapped his hands around his waist, rubbing his fingers along his bones beneath his skin, much more prominent than they should be.


	13. Stab Wounds

Hisoka and Kirito sat opposite Asuna in a cosy restaurant on the fifty seventh floor. Hisoka heard the chatter of the patrons and felt a ripple of fear run through the restaurant.

"That's the Silver Knight - Killer of Killers. And the Lightning Flash! Who's the guy in black?" Kirito looked down at his plate while Hisoka had a hand resting on his own ribs, showing no emotion due to his mask.

"Well, anyway…" Asuna began, looking at Kirito, her eyes flashing to Hisoka, "Thanks for today. For watching over me." She looked to the other side, blushing slightly.

"Ah, no problem…" Kirito said, smiling weakly. Asuna cast her gaze to Hisoka,

"You too." She tilted her head to the side, trying to see Hisoka's face. "Who are you? You seem familiar." She said, making Hisoka tense and Kirito's hand twitch.

"I am-" Hisoka felt a hand nudge his free hand, to which Hisoka winced and recoiled as Kirito began to talk,

"This is the Silver Knight, killer of killers." He said, quietly, making Asuna analyse the two of them.

"What is the relationship between you two?" She asked, making Hisoka tremble with anger, not that he let that show.

"We often bump into each other." Kirito says, making Hisoka smiled beneath his mask. In the time they have spent together, Kirito has learned to tell when Hisoka is grinning beneath his mask, which in turn makes him smile.

"The towns are safe areas, so no-one can attack or player-kill you." Asuna beings, her eyes locking with Hisoka's at this, before she looks at her clasped hands, "But it's different when you're asleep."

"Sleep-PKs, dirty tricks that use the duel system." Hisoka felt his stomach clench as he listened, zoning out as he had used some of these tactics when taking out members of the Laughing Coffin.

"It's happened before." Asuna's voice brought out Hisoka from his stupor, making his fist clench, "So… Thank you. "

"W-well… You're welcome." Kirito looked flustered, which - for some reason that was unknown to Hisoka - makes Hisoka want to punch Asuna in her adorable face.

The subsequent silence was really awkward.

Then there was a feminine scream, making Hisoka, Kirito and Asuna rise from their chairs and leave the restaurant in haste, into the town square. There, hung from a rope was man, stuck into his chest, a barbed sword. Asuna raced up the stairs to the building he was suspended from while calling to Hisoka and Kirito to catch him when she cut the rope.

Hisoka and Kirito ran forward, but watching in horror as he burst into a million shimmering triangles. The sword fell as Kirito stopped running, but Hisoka kept going, reaching up to grab the noose. He managed to grab it and swing up perching himself on the rope and looking down at the crowd.

"Everyone! Look for the duel winner sign!" Kirito looked around, his eyes darting, before looking up at Hisoka, who shook his head.

"There's no-one in the building." Asuna called, making Hisoka clench his jaw. He pulled himself up the rope to the balcony.

"Get the sword." Hisoka called down, making Kirito look up and nod. Hisoka perched on the post of the bed, Asuna leaning against the wall as they waited for Kirito to come up.

Kirito closed the door behind himself, sword brandished, "Just what is this?"

"The obvious conclusion is that the challenger impaled the victim with that spear, put a noose around his neck and pushed him out this window. Wouldn't you say?" Asuna didn't look up, addressing both of them.

"Not necessarily. No-one would be this obvious unless they were stupid. They would enter through the door, jump out of the window and - if the victim is gullible enough - " Hisoka ground his teeth together, "- they will follow, leading to a secluded section of a woods, challenge the victim to a duel and when the victim accepts, pin them down and kill the slowly. That's what Mutsa tried with me." Hisoka frowned, his voice exceedingly cold and discompassionate.

"Unless they were trying to send a message." Asuna said, looking up at the unnervingly emotionless mask.

"But no-one had the Winner message." Kirito stated, drawing Hisoka and Asuna's attention.

"That's impossible." Asuna and Hisoka both said, Asuna's was more disbelieving and Hisoka positively spat the words.

"The only way to hurt someone in a safe area is via duel." Asuna said, frowning. The company was silent for a few minutes, listening to the chatter outside of the window. "Either way, we can't ignore this. If someone's found a way to PK within safe areas, it will be dangerous inside towns as well as outside. But… we'll have to leave the front lines for now, we have no choice." She deliberated for a few minutes before walked over to Kirito and offering him her hand. "I'll need you to help me until we solve this. Just so we're completely clear, there won't be any time for napping."

"You were the one who was napping." Kirito half grinned, to which Asuna glared and twisted his hand when they shook. She then turned to face Hisoka, who tipped his head to one side, his mask shifting slightly.

"What's in it for me?" Hisoka stated, making Asuna growl, electricity crackle in the air around her.

"A do you not feel a duty to do this?" Asuna asked, disgusted slightly by Hisoka, who just sat there,

"No. What's in it for me?" He repeated, slowly, making Kirito's eyes go wide while Asuna's narrowed.

"What did you have in mind?" She flared her nostrils.

"What information do you have on the Laughing Coffin?" Hisoka asked an excited feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"I can get you the Knights of the Blood Oath's file on the Laughing Coffin if you help with this." Asuna said, making Hisoka nod.

"Deal." They shook hands, making Hisoka frown - this had better be worth it. Asuna left the room, head held high. Kirito held back, walking to Hisoka, who tried to exit.

"What is with you? Who requests that kind of information?" He hissed, making Hisoka sigh. Prying Kirito's hand off of his grey coat, he walked over to the balcony. Watching the noose swing below him, he said, quietly,

"Don't you get why I am the killer of killers? Haven't you seen a decrease in the Laughing Coffin's activity over the past few months? Its cold revenge and it's the thing that keeps me going." He watched as Kirito half-gasped and Hisoka chuckled, taking off his mask. Kirito saw the pain in his eyes and stopped worrying about the things just said.

"Are you ok, Cleaver?" Kirito asked, reverting to being Hisoka's friend rather than allay.

"You're the only one who knows my true name, now." He smiled and looked out to the crowd, who began to disperse, the fingers on his left hand brushing against the banister of the balcony and his right holding his ribs tightly. Before Kirito could question him further, he pushed his mask back on, leaping out of the window to where Asuna was waiting for the two of them.

Giving a slight start, Asuna ground her teeth together. Kirito exited the building soon after, standing on Asuna's other side.

"Excuse me. Did anyone see the whole thing? If you did, please speak up." Kirito looked around, as did Asuna and Hisoka, before long the three of them spotted a young woman with purple hair, making her way through the crowd.

"Sorry, I know you've just had a frightening experience. What's your name?" Asuna asked, quietly, using her left hand to wave Hisoka back when the young woman looked at him with such as scared expression.

"My name is Yoruko…" She said, trembling. Kirito's eyes widened.

"Was that first scream yours?" He asked, which Yoruko confirmed with a shaky nod. Her big blue eyes turned to Hisoka, and another wave of terror passed over her body, which made Asuna turn and ask Hisoka to leave.

"She recognises you. Leave." Asuna hissed, to which Hisoka responded.

"A deal is a deal. You give me the information." He said, emotionlessly. Kirito frowned,

"Just go, you'll get everything you needed." He said calmly to Hisoka, who turned and left as the girl continued talking, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.


	14. Grimrock

"So what now?" Kirito asked as Hisoka jumped from the balcony above the door. Asuna let out a sigh of frustration and Kirito started walking, not waiting for the two to catch up.

"What information do we know?" Hisoka asked, running to catch up with Kirito,

"We have the spear." Kirito pointed out, pulling the spear from his inventory.

"If we learn where that spear came from, it might lead us to the perpetrator." Asuna said, catching up to Hisoka and Kirito.

"Then we'll need someone with an appraisal skill. Neither of you… have one… right?" He asked, looking from Hisoka to Asuna.

"Of course not." Asuna said, flicking her hair out of her eyes. Kirito's gaze lands on Hisoka, who shrugs,

"No." He says, "But then again, neither do you." Asuna then stopped, frowning,

"Must you two address me so curtly?" She asked, making Hisoka grin beneath his mask, which made it hard for Kirito to keep a straight face.

"Um… Well, maybe… "Miss," then?" Kirito thought for a moment as Hisoka struggled to keep himself from laughing.

"What about "Milady"?" Hisoka said, biting his lip to keep from laughing. Kirito's eye twitched and Asuna sighed in a fashion much like an angry bull.

"Or, "Vice Commander-sama?" Kirito suggested as Hisoka dug his nails into his palm to keep from chuckling; Kirito just looked more and more frightened of Asuna, ""Lightning Flash-sama"?" He stood there as Hisoka watched Asuna's reaction.

"Just call me Asuna." Asuna turned her nose up, a pink tinge entering her cheeks. Kirito smiled weakly,

"Roger. Anyway, do you have any friends with an appraisal skill?" He asked, to which Asuna thought before answering.

"A weapons merchant friend has it… But this is their busiest time, so it may take a while." Asuna said. Hisoka couldn't think of anyone besides Kirito whom he had pleasantly interacted with for the past six months so that was no help.

"I see. Then let's ask an item merchant I know." Kirito smiled, genuinely.

"Does not interest me." Hisoka said, "I will be hunting. Message me when you get what you want." Hisoka said, taking off into the night, while Kirito and Asuna's eyes follow the grey blur into the distance.

Hisoka had felt an odd presence watching over the three of them, and again when he left on his own. Once securely in the woods, he looked around for a few minutes before calling, "Whoever is out there, show yourself."

"How very astute of you… Silver Knight." The cool voice said as a man emerged from the shadows. Hisoka searched his memory for the name that connected with the voice, knowing that it had some significance.

"Grimrock." Hisoka said, quietly, making Grimrock glare. Hisoka tilted his head to one side, watching as Grimrock circled him.

"You and your two friends are stopping the brilliant plan I have been able to watch from afar." Grimrock wrung his hands together as Hisoka watched. Four people stepped from behind the trees. "You see, if all goes as planned, I will be able to kill all three of those opposes and take what is rightfully mine - not that anyone would ever know. Remember - floor 19, you incompetent morons." He spat at the hooded figures.

"Who are they?" Hisoka pointed to the four who now stood around, swords drawn.

"I've come too far for you to ruin this. Next are your little friends." Grimrock spat, sending the four after Hisoka. Grimrock turned away, walking out of the forest.

"Don't worry; it will only hurt a little bit." The first one said. Hisoka pulled out his cleaver and the four murderers started.

"You four are part of the Laughing Coffin, correct?" Hisoka asked, to which they all nodded. "Then you must know what I do to members from the Laughing Coffin." Hisoka watched as one advanced on him. Slicing cleanly through, he cut the murderer's life in half, before back swinging and watching as he burst into a thousand glittery triangles.

The other three then started to hesitate. Hisoka stood straight after collecting all the items from the killer, before yawning. "I've been looking for a real challenger. I am once again, disappointed." The rest of the night passed in a blur as his body went into autopilot and before he knew it, he was waking up at mid-day.

Kirito had messaged him, telling him to meet at the Fifty Third floor inn, but to stay outside - Yoruko still didn't trust him. Hisoka obeyed, just hoping to get more information than the misleading note from the killers last night, which had led to an abandoned dungeon filled with explosives (poorly made ones, which is why he survived). Before long, Hisoka was standing outside the door, waiting to see if something happened. Then there was a cry of

"Hisoka! Window!" Hisoka crashed through the door, past the strange man sitting in the chair who was poised watching as Yoruko fell out of the window. Hisoka took a leaping dive out of the open window, watching as Yokuro burst into pieces much like the murderers from last night.

"Yoruko!" Kirito screamed as Hisoka stood there in her wake, before seeing Kirito take a flying leap onto the building top. Hisoka followed suit, watching as Kirito races a top the tiled roofs following a person cloaked in black which fanned out behind them.

And it all came rushing back to Hisoka, it made his head spin, how similar it was, how he had chased his sister a top roofs just like this, only to end up killing her…

"Stop! Kirito! Stop!" He shouted, but it was too late, he fell to his knees as the bells began to chime and the cloaked figure teleported away.

And so Kirito went back to Asuna and the man, who were shocked and bewildered, while Hisoka followed slowly behind them, his head spinning.

"Wait out here." Kirito whispered to Hisoka, who nodded quietly. Hisoka heard Asuna and the man yell at Kirito, but couldn't care less at this point. He just needed to hunt down those slimy Laughing Coffin morons.

After about half an hour, Asuna exited the inn room as Kirito tried to calm down the man, who - through his screams - Kirito had learned his name was Schmidt.

"Who are you?" Asuna hissed, making Hisoka look up from where he was slumped against the wall.

"The Silver Knight." He replied, quietly. Asuna pulled the mask off of his face, ripping the cord that attached it.

"Hisoka!" She whispered, watching the cruel pain return to Hisoka's vision. Asuna backed away, dropping the mask to the ground as anger tinted Hisoka's vision.

"You never even said good bye and I lost my freaking arm." Hisoka spits, before remembering why he wore his mask. He picked it up off the ground and held it to his face.

"You owe me information." Hisoka said, his voice switching to an emotionless mono-tone. Asuna looked taken aback.

"We aren't done." She said, almost incredulously. Hisoka nodded,

"Fine. It had better be worth it."


	15. Of Sandwiches and Possible Murder

"A ghost wouldn't need a teleportation crystal." Kirito said, quietly.

"A teleportation crystal?" Asuna asked, to which Hisoka growled,

"You shouldn't have gone after him in the first place. Chasing down killers leads to one thing. Death. Yours or theirs. Could you have chosen that?" Hisoka looked up at the night sky from where he sat on the edge of the fountain. Kirito looked at him through squinted eyes and Asuna furrowed her brow.

"How can you say that?" She asked, horrified at Hisoka's words, "We could have caught him and brought him to justice." She said, to which Hisoka shakes his head,

"No, you lock a killer up; it will just make them angry. To destroy them, you must destroy them truly." Hisoka grinned evilly from beneath his mask, which he had fixed as soon as Asuna had left the hallway.

"How would you know this?" Asuna asked, to which Kirito shuddered, clenching his fists.

"My sister hunted me down, she tried to kill me. I did the only thing I could. I had to kill her. I could tell her obsession for killing had only just been unleashed and if it got worse… there would be no stopping her…" Hisoka said in his flat, monotone way.

"You killed your own sister?" Asuna asked, horrified.

"Yes." Hisoka said, touching his mask with two fingers to check it, before walk around for a bit. Asuna rustled around in her bag, before pulling out three purple packages.

"Here." She gave one to Hisoka, one to Kirito, leaving the last one beside herself.

"You're giving it to me?" Kirito asked, incredulous, while Hisoka unquestionably opens the package.

"What do you think? I'm showing it off?" Asuna asks, nose in the air. Hisoka takes one look and wraps it back up. "It's durability is nearly at zero, so you should eat it before it disappears." Asuna began to neatly unwrap her own.

"Y-yeah." Kirito squirms for an answer, which made Hisoka want to kick something as Kirito began to devour the sandwich. "This is really good." Kirito whispers, making Hisoka curl his fingers around his own sandwich until it bursts into triangle - he wasn't going to eat it anyway.

"When did you make this?" Kirito asked between mouthfuls.

"Didn't I say its durability was about to run out?" Asuna asked, making Hisoka chuckle at his own sandwich's ending. "I thought something like this might happen, so I prepared these this morning." Asuna took lady-like bites of her sandwich, relishing in its flavour.

"I guess you are in charge of the Knights of the Blood Oath attack teams." Kirito half laughed, "Where is this from, anyway?"

"It wasn't for sale." Asuna said, whispered almost. Kirito stopped, as did Hisoka, and Asuna continued, "It isn't from a store. You know, I can cook, too." Asuna took a large bite, chewing it. Hisoka wanted to feel bad that his sandwich was crushed, but for some reason, it made him happier.

"Well, you could've put this up for auction and made yourself a lot of money." He suggested, laughing nervously. Asuna put her left foot down in an annoyed way, which frightened Kirito, who then dropped his sandwich.

It burst into triangles.

"I don't have any more, got it?" Asuna stated, Kirito looking at the spot his sandwich had disappeared to. Hisoka laughed silently, to which Kirito glared at him.

"Twenty percent interest?" Hisoka said, to which Kirito nodded.

"What?" Asuna asked, looking between the two.

"Hisoka is going to get me a new sandwich and I pay the full price, plus twenty percent… Because he squished his." Kirito glared at Hisoka, who couldn't help but be offended. Not by the statement, but by the fact Kirito thought Hisoka was making Kirito look bad in front of Asuna.

Hisoka got two of the sandwiches that looked nicest, before walking back to Asuna and Kirito. The two looked like something big had just been discovered.

"They're alive!" Asuna was smiling which was an odd occurrence. Hisoka passed Kirito his sandwich as Asuna explained how they had figured it all out. Kirito, finished with his sandwich sighed,

"We should wait for them, go get tea or something like that." He said, smiling at Asuna. Hisoka agreed, and so the three of them went to a little restaurant Kirito was fond of. Asuna and Kirito ordered tea as Hisoka sat at the end if the table, his fingers steeped.

"We ended up falling for Yoruko's plot, but I don't really mind." Kirito said, quietly, looking down at his tea.

"Yeah." Asuna took a tentative sip of the mint tea, before placing it on the saucer before herself, "Hey." Asuna caught both Kirito and Hisoka's attention, "What would you two have said when a super-rare item like that dropped?" She asked, making Hisoka bite his lip in thought.

"Hmmm, one of the reasons I play solo is to avoid that sort of situations." Kirito folded his arms, aware that both Hisoka and Asuna's eyes were on him. Asuna smiled slightly,

"In our guild, it would belong to the one it dropped for." Both Hisoka and Kirito looked at her, "That's the rule." She half smiled.

"Unless you volunteer it, no-one knows who gets what items." Hisoka said, adding his own two cents. His eyes on his grey cloak, remembering his sister. He pushed that thought to the side and picked up Kirito's knife, twirling it between his fingers.

"Also, because of that system, marriage in this world has real meaning. If you marry, your item storage is shared, right?" Asuna looked up, half smiling, "Everything you might have hidden until then… Once you're married, you can't hide it anymore." Asuna was off in her own little world, leaning her chin onto her hands which were clasped together. "Shared storage is quite a pragmatic system… But I think it's very romantic, as well." Hisoka wanted to hit her, but also protect her… It was weird.

The waitress brought them pasta, Hisoka once again opting out, as Kirito leaned forward, "Hey, Asuna?" He asked, causing Asuna to snap out of her almost trance like state.

"Yeah?" Kirito debated before speaking.

"Have you ever gotten married?" Asuna's breath caught, before she picked up her fork and brandished it like a weapon. Hisoka accidentally stabbed himself in the hand, wincing in pain as Kirito cried out. "No… That's not what I meant! You were just talking about how romantic and plastic…"

Hisoka didn't listen to the other half of what he had to say, his vision was caught by a cloaked figure whose smile was that of a murder's beneath his hood. "Kirito, where are Yoruko and Kains?" Hisoka asked, making Kirito stop mid-sentence,

"Floor 19, the field." Hisoka's vision blurred and the ambush night came rushing back to him.

Floor 19…

The words wavered around inside the teen's head as he walked on shaky legs back to where they sat, Kirito hunched over in his 'I'm figuring the whole evil plot out' hunch. All Hisoka heard was Asuna's words:

"Didn't you hear Kirito? She's in the field, on Floor 19." And Hisoka took off at a run, startling Kirito and Asuna.

"Why does he always do that?" Kirito sighed, before turning back to Asuna, who continued to talk.

Hisoka pulled out a teleportation crystal, saying 'Floor 19, City' and he was gone in a burst of triangles. The area around him solidified and he looked at his map to where the field was, not far, thankfully.

Running as fast as he could, he managed to make it just as Kains and Yoruko revealed themselves. A similar presence like those of the assassins enveloped Hisoka, and so he stuck to the shadows, changing his apparel so he would look like one of the Laughing Coffin.

A dagger was thrown into the shoulder of the man kneeling before the two cloaked sort-of allies. A paralysis dagger. Hisoka kept in time with the people now exiting from the tree-line, watching from behind.

"One down!" One cried, as a second held his sword to Yoruko's throat. The two of them seemed scared at the Laughing Coffin's presence as a tall man sauntered from the shadows behind Hisoka.

"This is a big catch." He said, "A Holy Dragon Alliance leader." He produced a meat cleaver, rusted at the edges and nowhere near as good as Hisoka's, but hey… It looked menacing. "Now then, what shall we play?" He asked, making Hisoka smile, not that the apparent demise of the man who had just confessed he inadvertently killed his guild leader, but the demise of these members of the Laughing Coffin.

"Let's do that one thing, boss… The game where they kill each other and only the winner survives!" Cried the one with the annoying voice.

He's going first. Hisoka added that to his mental list.

"Last time we did that, you killed the survivor anyway." The boss said, his smirk evident in his words,

"If you say that now, we can't have a game, boss." The annoying one cried,

"All right. Let's get started." The boss sauntered up to the man on the ground, cleaver raised; he brought it down, but was stopped at the sound of the beating of hooves.

A horse galloped towards them, an aura of goodness emanating from it, all the Laughing Coffin and Hisoka retracted from it. The horse reared, the rider falling off the back. Kirito landed with a thump in the dirt, causing Hisoka to grin.

"Guess I made it just in time…" Kirito got up off the ground, slapping the horse's rump and the horse ran off. "So, what will you do?" Kirito asked the boss, not even recognising Hisoka. "I have backup on the way." Asuna. "You want to fight thirty people from the lead group?" Kirito drew his blade.

The standoff was intense, but the leader of the Laughing Coffin band called them off. "Let's go." He said, quietly. The three others who were from the laughing coffin walked away quietly, but Hisoka stood there, head bowed.

"Don't pick a fight with someone who has nothing left to lose." Hisoka called out, causing the murders to stop. He then drew his blade, causing Kirito to gasp and call out, before he cut each of the murderers across the back. They turned, yelling in pain. Hisoka then ran them through again with his sword, watching their life bars drain to zero.

Yoruko called out as the three murderers died, Hisoka smiling to himself, he changed back, his cloak turning grey with a flourish. Kirito stood there, shocked as Hisoka walked calmly away from them.

"I'm glad to see you again, Yoruko." Kirito said, quietly, before Hisoka teleported away. He sat in the restaurant at floor Thirty Five, ordering three plates of food. Soon enough, he was sitting there with three cold plates of food and a happy Kirito and Asuna.

"If you married someone and then found out they had a different side they didn't know about… What would you do?" Kirito asked, smiling at Hisoka, who had felt nothing but loathing towards himself and his actions for the past hour or so before they had turned up.

"Accept them. I would have to… Be rather hypocritical of me, wouldn't it?" He said, smiling up at them. When both looked down at him with a confused expression, he waved it off. "Sorry if I've been kind of flaky…"

"Not at all." Asuna said, sitting down. "Flaky means without consistency. You run every single time." She said, making Hisoka sigh,

"I- sorry about earlier… I got you food. No charge." Hisoka offered, both Kirito and Asuna smiled weakly, thanking him.


	16. Wouldn't Happen in a Dream

On Floor 55, Hisoka found himself face to face with a dragon, steel body on the outside, precious metals on the inside. Hisoka had been trying to get those metals for about a fortnight now and had successfully befriended the dragon - somehow. When it says 'befriended' it really means that Hisoka is now recognised by it and will not be eaten alive unless he approaches.

"All right, let's get going." Hisoka's heart stops, _that's Kirito's voice!_ Without further ado, there was a growl from the mountain, and the dragon Hisoka had seen so many times was there, threatening the guy he _had_ been hanging around with for the past few months and the young girl who had refused to make Hisoka a new cleaver because of his reputation and her lack of materials that Hisoka found suitable.

_Morons._

Hisoka looked around from where he sat, checking that Silica and Kirito were safe (which they were, Kirito looks much stronger), he let his final thought be - apart from leaving these people as quickly as possible - that he would see them healthy once more. He then jumped down the hole the dragon lived in; in hindsight, it was one of his stupider ideas. Lying face down in the snow, his grey jacket was adequate disguise. He would like to say he planned it that way, but he kind of fainted on impact. The snow was falling softly and the dragon was roaring up ahead, but all Hisoka heard was the faint lullaby playing in his memory, the one his sister used to sing.

_And everything went dull, the world went black._

The first thing Hisoka felt was pain. Like he was stabbed everywhere with icicles. Looking around, he could see that he had landed face first into the snow, his clothes now soaking - he thanked himself on the initiative to bring a spare change. His mask, however, was crushed beyond repair and mushy from the snow. Clicking through his inventory, he saw no spare mask, which meant it was back at his house. Changing into a pair of black pants and a grey top. He looked around, now noticing the warm glow that lit the cave.

There lay Kirito and Lisbeth, asleep, holding hands. Hisoka hadn't seen Kirito since the night he killed the three members of the Laughing Coffin in front of Yoruko and Kains. Asuna had never really forgiven him which is one of the reasons Kirito and Hisoka hadn't seen each other often.

Seeing the dark haired teen laying down, holding the smith's hand… It brought back all of the feelings Hisoka had worked hard to bury. In the dead of night, the only sound heard was Hisoka's sobs.

A few hours after that, the tears had stopped, Hisoka preferring to look over his map and check his supplies. Kirito woke soundlessly, that is, until he spotted Hisoka. He cried out, brandishing his sword. It was a miracle Lisbeth didn't wake. As soon as he realised that it was Hisoka, Kirito broke into a grin.

"Cleaver." He said, though Hisoka didn't respond, merely turning to look back at his map. Without his mask, he would be working harder than usual to conceal his emotions. He never trusted the sleeping, not ever. Not since a devastating incident almost a month ago.

Before long, Lisbeth woke, stretching and emitting a noise that just made Hisoka want to adopt a puppy. "What are you doing?" She asked Kirito, who was digging in the snow.

"Look at this." Kirito said, making Hisoka look over at him. There, in his hand, was a clump of the metal Hisoka had been trying to get for so long now.

"Could this be…?" Lisbeth sounded incredulous.

"Yeah, the metal we came to find." Kirito said, making Hisoka fume in the corner. Lisbeth looked around, hearing Hisoka wriggling around, trying to get a more comfortable seat in the snow, to which Lisbeth screamed.

"W-who's that!?" Lisbeth said, pulling out her sword. Kirito smiled to himself,

"Don't even try it, Liz. That's the Silver Knight." He says, Hisoka waving a hand over his shoulder to acknowledge them.

"How did you find the crystal?" Lisbeth turned to Kirito, who said, softly,

"This place isn't a trap; this is the dragon's nest." Hisoka narrowed his eyes, listening to what the other two talked about.

"The dragon is nocturnal, right?" Lisbeth said, making Hisoka jump up, turning to them.

"It won't be long until…" He looked to the sky as the others did, a cold chill sweeping down his spine as he spotted a figure rapidly descending towards them.

"It's here!" Lisbeth screamed as Kirito swept the girl onto his shoulders. He nodded to Hisoka, who understood what Kirito was about to do, and he wanted Hisoka to mirror him. The two of them leapt to the walls of the cave as the dragon descended before they flipped backwards, Kirito's blade making purchase in the beast's back, but Hisoka struggled to gain footing on the beast's foot. As the dragon rose, Hisoka heard Kirito's cry:

"We're outside!" Hisoka's grip slipped and he began to fall, pulling a teleportation crystal out of his pocket, fumbling for a second, just long enough to hear Lisbeth cry,

"Hey, Kirito! I like you!" Hisoka felt his insides clench as he said,

"Floor 55, Ciera." With a whirl, he found himself back in the city square of his home town, where he resided, one of the towns buried in the cold mountain ranges of floor 55. He was the only one (apart from the merchants) who resided there permanently. Walking through the town, he managed to make it to his house without bursting into tears. Once inside, he slumped against the door, holding his head in his hands - it felt odd without his mask, so he stood up, going to his storage area, taking out his spare mask and hanging his clothing out in front of the roaring fire.

Before too long, he was sitting on his bed, cross legged, looking at the stats of his sword.

_Estranged Justice_

Odd name for a sword, but it suited it. He vowed right then that he would use that sword until he died, he didn't need a new one, and this one was perfect for him. He didn't need some fancy dragon-poop sword that Lisbeth made, or any other smith for that fact. His bottled up rage and sadness helped his accuracy and damage.

Before long, he had fallen asleep and the next thing he knows, there is a knock on his door. Making sure his mask was in place, he got up and opened the door, barefoot and carrying his cleaver.

"Hisoka!" Kirito's surprised gasp shook all of the sleepy-haze out of Hisoka's mind. He stood in the doorway, a good five inches shorter than Kirito, wearing a baggy grey t-shirt and baggy black pants, his clothes hanging in front of the fire, clearly visible behind him.

"Kirito." He said, curtly, inviting Kirito inside.

"Y-you live here?" Kirito asked, to which Hisoka nodded. He didn't bother to pull his clothes from in front of the fire, rather go into the kitchen and make two cups of tea. "Why floor 55?" He asked,

"It's cold and unforgiving. Like me." Hisoka said, making Kirito start. Hisoka brought out two cups of tea, going into the bedroom and placing his sword in his holster and putting it back on his bed.

"Why were you at the dragon's den last night?" Kirito asked, making Hisoka grind his teeth beneath his mask. Something died inside when Kirito didn't realise that this was something he didn't want to talk about - they had grown apart.

"I was trying to get the ore you were, I killed the dragon but… You had the smith all I have is… _Estranged Justice._ That's all I'll ever need. Even if all my masks break and my coats get torn, my bravado fails and I become just as jaded in the real world… That sword is the only thing I can rely on. Who won't leave me." Hisoka blew on his tea to cool it down. Kirito suspected they were only sort of talking about a sword.

"I-is this about me?" Kirito asked, his fingers clenching around his cup. Hisoka looked up, startled,

"No, I mean what I say. I had this tailored from the cleaver I bought in the first month. Back then, it was called '_Barry the Chopper'_. This sword is actually alive, I took the heart of the dragon, the one you were fighting earlier, and had it put in not long ago. If you notice, it warms to my touch and is like ice to anyone else's. It's alive. It's my strength." Hisoka smiled slightly behind his mask.

"You used to never wear your mask when it was just me." Kirito said, making Hisoka's stomach tighten and he got up, tipping his tea down the drain.

"It's been two months since I saw you, I kind of expected things to change." Hisoka sighed, his voice neutral which meant it was taking all of his skill not to throw something sharp at the wall, not a Kirito - something Kirito had learned the hard way, all those months ago - it was a stress release. "Please, could you leave?" Hisoka asked, making Kirito almost drop his tea-cup.

"We need to spend more time together." Kirito said quietly,

"It takes two to tango, beater." Hisoka said, quietly, closing the door behind Kirito as he left, before slumping against the door and letting the tears slide silently down his cheeks.


	17. Life and Death and Marriage and Death

Hisoka closed the door of his house behind him, teleporting to the front lines. It had been quite a few months since he had been to the front lines and the monsters below level fifty were no longer a challenge to him. That and Kirito promised to message him and he didn't. Hoping to face a boss soon, he took the city at a steady run, hoping to get to the dungeon with time to spare before the middle of the day. Up ahead, there was a group of men dressed in red - the FurinKaazn.

"Are we going to the dungeon?" One asked, to which the others nodded. Hisoka followed at a safe distance, partly out of curiosity, partly out of boredom. Once they had made it, they passed through one of the invisible barriers and saw an odd sight.

Kirito and Asuna, standing, talking to one another, assumedly in a party. While the Kirito struggled to keep the men at bay, Hisoka lurked in the shadows, which wasn't an easy thing to do when he stands out like the moon at midnight. Asuna giggled at the sight in front of her, at the struggling men.

"Hello there, I'll be partying with him for a while. Nice to meet you." Asuna said in a sickeningly sweet voice. Hisoka sweat dropped. This couldn't be happening. _This _was the reason Kirito didn't message him. Asuna.

Hisoka heard the marching of footsteps behind him and hid behind a pillar as a bedraggled group of men came into view. Asuna, Kirito and Klein spouted out some meaningless facts that Hisoka had no time for, only knowing that the group was The Army and they wanted Hisoka in custody for murder.

"At ease!" The leader called as Hisoka edged around the pillar more so he was sure they couldn't see him. From the sound of it, the men slumped to the ground, exhausted. "I am Lieutenant Colonel Corvatz of the Aincrad Liberation Army." The man said as Hisoka's windpipe effectively closed. That was the man who was in charge of the hunt for him.

"Kirito. I'm solo." He heard Kirito say in his determined voice.

"Have you cleared the area up ahead?" Corvatz asked.

"Yes." Kirito replied, "We have a map up to the boss room."

"Then I'd like you to give us that map data." The Lieutenant said. His words were met with cries of outrage.

"For free?" Klein hissed, "Do you know how much of a pain in the ass mapping is?"

"We share information and resources equally with civilian players!" Corvatz said in his 'protecting the people' way. "And was maintain order in battle to liberate all players from this game as quickly as possible! Thus, you have a duty to help us!"

"Listen…" Asuna began as Klein went to insult Corvatz, but Kirito just said,

"Stop it." Hisoka could hear his breaths coming out in short puffs and the bandages on his chest were aching worse than usual with the stress of actually possibly being caught, although, by the sounds of it, the army men weren't up to taking anything on at the moment.

"I planned on sharing the data with everyone when I returned to the town. I don't mind." Kirito said which made Hisoka roll his eyes.

"Come on, that's being way too nice, Kirito." Klein said, voicing Hisoka's opinions, although, possibly for different reasons - i.e. they want to kill Hisoka and not Klein.

"I won't make money off map data." Kirito said as Hisoka heard the whirring of the system and the transaction was complete.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Corvatz said,

"If you plan to pick a fight with the boss, I'd recommend against it." Kirito said, to which Hisoka let out a loud,

"Damn!" Making all the occupants of the dungeon turn in the direction.

"Who's there?" Corvatz called, to which Kirito's eyes widened.

"Lieutenant… I wouldn't…" Kirito's voice was wary as Hisoka stepped out from behind the pillars.

"Corvatz… Do you still want me dead?" Hisoka said as the Army Commander stood there, scrutinising him. Hisoka then saw Kirito's face, the disbelief it held.

"The Army wants you captive but you've escaped me personally too many times." Corvatz drew his sword, looking at Hisoka. "You're on unfamiliar ground, murderer. I have a whole map." He smiled cruelly.

"Kirito." Hisoka whispered, "Beater! You gave him the map! I'll kill you! I will kill you!" Hisoka pulled his cleaver out, running as fast as he could, not to strike at any of the people, but to get ahead, to jump from this walkway to the next before he was out of sight. Kirito and the rest stood shell shocked.

Hisoka went around until he found an exit. Trekking around a bit, he went back down to Floor 53, deciding to redo the boss there. He fought, but with no enthusiasm, before heading back home and spending the next week holed up in his room. Finally, he got a short message.

Hisoka, we need to meet. Floor 35, you know where.

-Kirito.

Hisoka walked along, quietly once he teleported back to the city he most dreaded. Walking to the restaurant that he, Kirito and Asuna had lunch at almost six months previously; he sat at the same table and rested his head in his hands.

"Cleaver." He heard the teasing tone in Kirito's voice, but it didn't last long.

"Beater." Hisoka wearily replied as Kirito sat opposite him.

"I've made a huge mistake. I've challenged Heathcliff to a fight and if I lose, I must join the Knights of the Blood Oath." Kirito said, making Hisoka stare at him wide eyed.

"Hi there, Kirito! How are you? I'm fine. What's happening in your life? _Then_ you say all of that stuff." Hisoka sighed, not knowing why he even agreed to this.

"Hisoka, that's not all I wanted to say." Kirito sat opposite him. "When I fought that boss on Floor 74, he fought in a style much like yours." Kirito said, softly. "_Cleaver_." Hisoka looked up at Kirito who was looking down at the table, playing with the tablecloth.

"What are you saying?" Hisoka asked, making Kirito frown,

"I guess, I just had a lot of pent up stress and aggression and… I really like Asuna." Kirito said, Hisoka could swear the mood just flat lined. Without another word, Hisoka stands up and leaves, much to Kirito's astonishment.

"Where are you going?" Kirito cried once they were in the streets, Hisoka hissing back:

"You just told me that you figuratively killed me and you might not be going solo anymore. _Who are you? _I thought we were friends…" Hisoka murmured and turned, walking away. Kirito raced to catch up with him, but Hisoka teleported back to Floor 55.

Kirito did not come after him.


	18. Fighting for Freedom

Three months since Hisoka and Kirito's last meeting, Hisoka had been watching the news, noting where Kirito popped up. At first, he didn't know why he did it, he told himself it was to keep the enemy close, but then, he realised the real reason he had been watching Kirito since the start was because Kirito was the only one he could relate to… This was ironic because Kirito was really nothing like Hisoka.

Hisoka had heard that there was a party gathering to take down the biggest boss yet on Floor 76, he knew Kirito would be there. He wanted to make amends.

Locking his house as he left, it somehow felt like a momentous occasion and he smiled back at it. He would miss his home when it was gone. Holding up his teleportation crystal, he teleported to Gundzam in the city square.

There stood Asuna and Kirito with Egil and Klein, the three of them talking together. Hisoka waited along the edges, but he wasn't too hard to spot. As soon as Kirito's eyes were set on Hisoka, he thought he had made the wrong decision, but there was no turning back now.

Glinting off both Kirito and Asuna's hands were wedding rings, which made bile rise in Hisoka's throat. Kirito moved his eyes away as Heathcliff and the rest of the army approached. Heathcliff moved to the centre of the area, holding a teleportation crystal high and saying;

"Corridor: Open." A shimmering pool of light appeared beneath the archway Hisoka was standing next to, making the masked teen jump. "Now, let's go." Heathcliff stated, before walking into the light. Hisoka crept through next, liking how the light masked him to the world.

The whole area held a gloomy aura as people were equipping weapons and armour. Hisoka caught Kirito's attention as he saw him produce his cleaver.

"Hisoka." Kirito said, quietly, Asuna joining them as Hisoka looked up.

"Yes, Kirito?" Hisoka said; dread growing in the pit of his stomach.

"Estranged Justice is the only thing you need." Kirito said, smiling slightly. Hisoka grinned beneath his mask.

"Even if all my masks break." Hisoka said,

"And all your coats get torn." Kirito smiled as Asuna looked confused,

"If my bravado fails." Hisoka almost whispered, pulling Kirito into a hug.

"And you become just as jaded in the real world." Kirito says, letting go. Hisoka pulls Estranged Justice from its sheath and readies himself, "Remember, don't pick a fight with someone who has nothing left to lose."

"Are you ready?" Heathcliff asks, standing in front of the doors. "The Knights of the Blood Oath will take the majority of damage on the front line. While we do, I'd like the rest to discern its attack patterns, and prepare to change tactics as necessary. It will be a difficult battle, but I have faith that we can prevail." Heathcliff paused before shouting, "For our day of liberation!" This was met with thunderous applause.

Everyone waited for Heathcliff to open the doors, Kirito and Asuna whispering sickly lovey-dovey stuff to each other that made Hisoka want to throw things at them, but also protect them.

The doors opened to reveal a chamber of darkness.

"Don't die." Kirito smiled.

"Same to you." Klein laughed.

"I'm gonna make a fortune off today's drops." Egil grinned, "I have no intention of dying."

"You never forget how to fight, like riding a bloody bicycle." Hisoka feels excitement and fear mix in his stomach as the doors open further.

"Attack!" Heathcliff shouts as everyone runs in, spreading out like ants on the floor, waiting for something to happen. The door closes and somehow disappears and Hisoka hears something, and then spots something on the roof.

"Above us!" Asuna cried as an enormous, skeletal millipede clicks its many jaws menacingly at everyone.

_The Skull Reaper_

People ran in all directions, the Skull Reaper just killing them with one hit, going after individuals. Hisoka remembers hacking and slashing at Kirito's orders, staying away from the giant bones wavering at its side.

Hisoka screamed as it came down, slashing and hacking his way until he could hear every bone crack when he hit it. He kept his gaze split between the boss and the front lines on a lower level than he, using his acrobatics skill to jump when they were endangered. Unfortunately, when he got to one of the abdominal sections, the bones became tougher and Hisoka's cleaver was damaged, not beyond repair but… It was like someone stabbed him in the stomach. Kirito must have done something right, because it was then flailing in the air, its final life bar depleting.

Hisoka fell to the ground, exhausted as the Skull Reaper screamed in its eerie way and burst into many tiny triangles.

People all sat around, mumbling things to one another, all Hisoka could see was Estranged Justice, broken, damaged. The tears began to stream down his cheeks, and it was then that he realised his mask was missing, smashed, no doubt, by the beast. His cloak was torn and it burst around him. He had nothing but a broken sword.

And through all that, fourteen people died. He couldn't save them.

Kirito got up, quietly, speeding towards Heathcliff, sword ablaze. He got through the knight's defences, not actually hitting him.

"Kirito, what are you…" Asuna leapt up, as did Hisoka, now seeing the 'Immortal Object' sign above Heathcliff. "Immortal Object? What's going on, Commander?" Asuna asked Heathcliff, now standing beside Kirito.

"The game ensures that his HP will never fall into the yellow zone. Something has always bothered me, ever since I arrived here." Kirito said, the follow dungeon echoing his voice. Hisoka stood on shaky legs, walking towards Kirito. "Where does he hide while he watches us and adjusts the world? But I'd forgotten a simple piece of psychology. Something any kid knows. There's nothing as boring as watching someone else play an RPG. Isn't that right, Kayaba Akihiko?" Kirito's voice got dark, the revelation stirring up the crowd, Hisoka along with it.

"Would you be so kind as to tell me how you figured it out?" Heathcliff - Kayaba - asked, dropping his act.

"The first time I felt something was wrong was during the duel. In that last instant, you were far too fast." Hisoka remembered that Kirito had duelled Heathcliff.

"I suspected as much." Kayaba nodded, smiling, "That was an unfortunate mistake. You overpowered me to the point that I needed to engage the system's over-assist mode." Everyone gasped, and the man looked around, "Yes, I am Kayaba Akihiko. And If I may add, I am the game's final boss, who would have awaited you at the top floor." Everyone was shocked, but Hisoka just felt anger.

Anger that this man had allowed people to die - had allowed Mutsa to die, whether or not she deserved it.

"That's pretty bad. The strongest player betrays us to become the last boss?" Kirito said, Asuna clinging to his arm.

"Not a bad storyline, is it? I always thought that you would be the one to stand before me at the end. Dual-wielding is the skill given to the player with the fastest reaction time, who will then act out the part of the Hero that challenges the Demon King. But your power exceeded my expectations." It was almost like Kayaba was congratulating Kirito, but so much worse, "Well, these unexpected events are part of the fun of an MMORPG." One man went so far to attack Kayaba, which forced him to paralyse everyone but himself and Kirito.

Hisoka felt the paralysis working against himself, but he thought of his sister's mad face, the way all of the Laughing Coffin had killed her child-like hope… How Kayaba had let this happen, and willed himself to stand even as everyone fell.

"What are you going to do? Kill us all and cover it up?"

"Of course not. I wouldn't do anything so unfair. Very well, then… I shall await you on the top floor, within the Ruby Palace." Kayaba smirked, "I've put a lot of time into developing the Knights of the Blood Oath and the other front line players," Kayaba's eyes skimmed over Hisoka, who remained standing, though Kayaba didn't do anything to change that, "so it's a shame I have to leave them part way. However, I'm sure that with your power, you'll reach me eventually. But first…" Kayaba pushed his sword and shield into the ground, "Kirito, I must reward you for deducing my identity. I shall give you a chance."

"A chance?" Kirito asked, hold Asuna as she lay on the ground, immobile from paralysis.

"The chance to fight me one-on-one. Naturally, I'll deactivate my immortal status. Defeat me, and you beat the game. And all the players will be able to log out. How about it?" Kayaba offered, Hisoka could only see the face of her sister, smiling at him.

"That's fine." Kirito whispered, "Let's finish this."

"Kirito!" Asuna cried, trying to reach for her sword,

"I'm sorry. But I can't run away here."

"You aren't going to die here, right?" Asuna asked, worried about her husband's safety.

"No, I'm going to win." Kirito smiled at her, which warmed Hisoka's heart, he wished he could love someone like that. "I'm going to win and end this game."

"All right." Asuna agrees, "I believe in you, Kirito." Kirito lays Asuna on the ground and draws his weapons. He says his final goodbyes, though Hisoka cannot hear them, he only waits until Kayaba deactivates his immortal status.

"I'm sorry, but I have a request." Kirito says,

"What is it?" Kayaba inclines his head,

"I don't plan on losing. But if I die here, I want you to make sure that Asuna can't kill herself, just for a little while." Hisoka's insides twist at his words,

"Very well." Kayaba agrees. He finally switches off his immortal status. Hisoka sways on the spot before taking a step.

"No! I want my revenge!" Hisoka shouts, his voice full of pain and tears in his eyes. Kirito turns, wide eyed,

"You're the one who killed people!" He said, his eyes filled with fear,

"And he's the one who let them _die!_" Hisoka ran at Kayaba, Kirito screaming his name, he hacked and slashed to no avail, with a broken sword against an impervious shield until the sword shattered. He watched the sword burst into the shiny triangles before disappearing, he faltered, falling to his knees, for Kayaba to give him one good, final cut. Spluttering and stumbling backwards, Hisoka lands on the floor in front of Kirito.

"Hisoka! Why?" He shouts running over to where, making Hisoka smile as the tears began to slide down his face,

"Oh, Kirito… I think I love you." He admits, before his life bar depletes, everything goes black and the pain is no more…

_You are dead._


	19. Shades of Gray

"As of 14:55, November 7, the game has been cleared." Hisoka opened his eyes, finding himself in an unknown location. "The game has been cleared." A cool, robotic voice told him. Something inside of him twisted and he began to cry.

Beneath his feet were nothing but clouds, the sun slowly sinking below them. He opened his menu to see the words 'Initiating final phase, 65%'. Only 35% until he was truly dead. The though swam around in his head, making him dizzy until he collapsed. 35% and he would never see Kirito or Asuna again. Sure they had their disagreements, but Asuna was a beautiful, mature young woman.

"Kirito?" A voice behind said, turning, he almost fell out of the sky, there was Asuna and Kirito.

"Sorry, I died, too." Kirito whispered, Hisoka watched them both, he wondered if Kirito had thought of him at all as he fought Heathcliff, about what Hisoka said.

"Dummy…" Asuna's eyes began to water, Hisoka just wanted the final phase to be complete, and so he would never have to not see Kirito again. Asuna ran at Kirito, collapsing into his arm before the two shared a passionate kiss. Hisoka watched as a few of his tears fell through the invisible floor.

"Where are we?" Kirito asked, taking Asuna's hand and staring out into the view, a crumbling Aincrad.

"Quite a view." A deep voice beside Kirito and Asuna said,

"Kayaba Akihiko…"

"The SAO mainframe, within the fifth-level basement at my corporate headquarters, is deleting all data on its storage devices. In ten minutes, everything in his world will vanish." Kayaba said, softly, pressing a few buttons on his menus. Hisoka heard a soft ping, opening his own menu; he saw the item 'Estranged Justice Heart' and his own leapt.

"What about everyone down there?" Kirito asked,

"You need not worry about anyone still alive, just a moment ago; the remaining 6,147 players were logged out." Kayaba looked through his player files, noting the names of everyone who had logged out.

"What about those who died the 4,000 who died?" Hisoka asked,

"Their minds will never return. In every world, once you die, you're gone."

"So it will be like some people never existed in this world?" Hisoka said, quietly, making them all turn. Kirito and Asuna gasped but Hisoka could not bear to look at them, only watching Kayaba. "Why? Why did you do it?" Hisoka stood up, walking over to where Kayaba stood,

"Why, huh? I forgot a long time ago. I wonder why… When I began developing the full dive environment system… No, long before that, I dreamed of nothing but creating that castle, a world that surpassed all our laws and all our restrictions." Kayaba stared off into the sunset, "And now I have seen someone surpass even my own world's laws…" He turned to look at Kirito, "How old must I have been, when I was obsessed with the fantasy of a steel castle that floated in the sky? I wanted to leave the ground, to fly to that castle. For a long time, that was my only desire… You know… Kirito, I still believe that in some other world, that castle truly exists."

"Yeah, I hope it does."

"Oh, I forgot to say this, Congratulations on winning the game, Kirito, Asuna, Hisoka." He turned to smile at them, "Now, I must be going." And he was gone in a puff of smoke.

"This is goodbye." Hisoka felt the tears well in his eyes as he looked off into the distance, Kirito and Asuna sat together on the invisible floor.

"No… No, it isn't. We will always be remembered in history. The Lightning Flash. The Black Swordsman. The Silver Knight." Kirito said, softly, smiling at Hisoka in a way that said 'I'm sorry.'

"Before we are, tell me your name… Your real name." Asuna looked to Hisoka and Kirito.

"Kirigaya. Kirigaya Kazuto." Kirito said, softly, "I think I turned sixteen last month."

"Siik Hoshi." Hisoka says which makes Kirito turn to him. "Aged sixteen."

"Kirigaya Kazuto. You're both younger than I am? My name is Yuuki Asuna. I'm seventeen."

"Yuuki Asuna… Yuuki Asuna…" Kirito began to cry, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I promised I'd send you back to the other world… But… I… I…" Hisoka sat to Kirito's right as Asuna grabbed his left hand.

"It's ok, I'm happy I was able to meet you, Kazuto… To live with you. It's the happiest I've ever been in my life. Thank you. I love you." Asuna said, tears sliding down her cheeks.

As Kirito and Asuna hug, the world goes white and everything disappears…


	20. Return

Hisoka opened his eyes, looking around himself, "Kirito!" He screamed, the nurse beside his bed giving a start.

"She's up! She's up!" Things began to go off everywhere as Hisoka began to flail, limbs smashing into the metallic bedframe, shock, fear and excitement pooling in his stomach.

_I- I'm alive!_ Tears poured down his cheeks as he tried to rip the NerveGear off his head. His hands were frail, skin and bones. Once the NerveGear was off, blonde hair tumbled out onto his shoulders.

_I-I-I… I have to be female here. I am not the Silver Knight. I am _not _a murder here… I am Hoshi. Miss Hoshi… _

Standing, Hoshi began to walk on her frail legs. "Kirito! Kirito!" She began to scream, but then the world went fuzzy and more doctors came in.


	21. Siik Hoshi

_"You were born a girl, you will die a girl." Mutsa's tone was cold and full of disgust. It was the same dream Hoshi had been having for two months now, it always ended the same way, with Mutsa stabbing Hoshi through the heart and Hoshi waking up screaming and crying._

_"Kirito!"_

"Stop screaming like that, one would think you were still in that disgusting game." Hoshi's grandfather's arms were crossed as he looked over her, black eye's like his granddaughter's and slicked back grey hair. "The doctors say you can come home now, they've convinced us you're eating enough." Hoshi had not been able to leave the hospital for the past two months as she had refused to eat until she was allowed back into the NerveGear. She wore it like a helmet when she slept until the nurses weaned her off it.

"I need to see someone." Hoshi whispered, hands folded in her lap. Grandfather looked at her with a steely glint,

"Who?" Menace entering the old man's words as Hoshi gulped silently,

"Kazuto-san." She knew not using the honorific would earn her a slap across the face - something she didn't need right now. The old man walked up to her, pulling clump of hair to his hand, the old man sneered,

"Some _boy _from the game?" He asked, to which Hoshi nodded. Grandfather gave a tug on her hair before dropping it. "Fine. Now that you're free, you be a proper lady." He threw a bag on her bed, and Hoshi's windpipe constricted. _This isn't my grey coat… I miss Estranged Justice… I miss my world._ A tear slipped down her cheek that grandfather didn't see as he left the room.

Hoshi got out of the bed, pulling off the surgical white robe and watching it pool on the ground. Seeing the bandages across the room, she contemplated bandaging her chest, but knew it would only earn her another slap. Pulling the new clothes out of the bag, Hoshi looked at the dress.

Pale pink, knee-length with straps… So _effeminate_. Alone with the pink flats and her new, long, blonde hair… It made Hoshi want to cry. She searched frantically around the room until she found the scissors. Going into the adjoining bathroom, she hacked away at her hair until it was at her chin, until it was the way she liked it. Leaving the bathroom much calmer than she entered it, she slipped into the pink dress and flats.

"I'm ready, grandfather." Long ago had Hoshi abandoned her true voice, the one she used in SAO, now it was high and girly, making her grandfather rather happy. The old man walked into the room, looking at his granddaughter.

"What did you do?" He spat, making Hoshi tremble,

"I-I cut it, grandfather." She whispered,

"You look like a new-age whore." He growled, slapping Hoshi across her cheek, making Hoshi clench her fists, "You are at least wearing the dress… Your grandmother picked it." He turned his nose up, though Hoshi could see a ghost of a smile on his lips.

Hoshi had looked up Kirito in one of the many boring days in the hospital usually spent eating mashed potatoes and watching the news - it was so boring it often made Hoshi cry out of frustration. During the car-ride to Kirito's residence, Hoshi talked little to grandfather.

"I should tell you now… Your sister died within the game." Grandfather said, without looking away from the road. Hoshi bowed her head.

"I know…" The rest of the journey was silent. Once out of the car, grandfather told Hoshi he would pick her up at three that afternoon, it being ten in the morning then. Hoshi agreed.

She knocked on the door, waiting for a response. A young girl opened the door, well; she wasn't much younger than Hoshi… "Yes?" She asked, and Hoshi's smile faltered.

"I-I'm Siik Hoshi. I was in SAO with Kirit- Kazuto." She stuttered, her smile slipping slightly, the young girl's eyes opening wide as she invited Hoshi inside.

"Brother is at the hospital visiting Asuna, he'll be back soon." She said, smiling slightly. Hoshi's heart rate sped up. She had heard about people still trapped in the game but - Asuna? Hoshi sat on one of the dining room chairs, ankles crossed and hands twitching. The young girl introduced herself as Suguha, making tea for the two of them and Kirito.

"Who were you in SAO?" Asked Suguha excitedly, to which Hoshi clenched her tea-cup, not drinking anything.

"I'd rather not talk about that until Kazuto gets here." She sighed, and Suguha nodded understandingly. "Wait, I've heard of you, you're the national quarter finalist for kendo!" Hoshi smiled brightly at Suguha, who blushed bright red,

"W-what? How do you know?" She asked, making Hoshi laugh lightly,

"Oh, Kazuto told me all about you. You really are quite talented." Hoshi gushed, making Suguha smile,

"That's so nice of him!" She laughed, blushing pink, Hoshi smiled, glad to have made someone happy - this was Hoshi from the real world. She had no motivation, she just hoped that she could make someone else's day brighter because her own was so bleak. Before long, there was a knock on the door and Kirito walked in, Suguha jumped up, excitedly, "Brother! Brother! There's a girl here to see you, she says you two knew each other in SAO." Hoshi could hear every word.

"W-who are you?" Kirito asked, seeing Hoshi sitting at the table.

"Siik Hoshi." Hoshi smiled.

"Hoshi… Hoshi…" Kirito turned the name over on his tongue before Hoshi stood up.

"The Silver Knight." Hoshi looked to the ground, years of her grandfather's teachings rushing back to her and she felt ashamed. Kirito's eyes widened, looking over Hoshi and her dress, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the next room, his face shocked.

"B-brother… I'm going to practice my kendo." Suguha said, uncertainly, before leaving. Kirito waited until Suguha was gone to growl,

"Liar! Who are you really? A member of the media?" He asked, making Hoshi's insides crawl.

"Don't pick a fight with someone who has nothing left to lose." Hoshi took a deep breath, letting a tear slip down her cheek, she smiled anyway. Kirito's face softened as he looked at Hoshi's eyes, black, like a shark's, but with none of the sparkle they held in the game… The game…

"Why do you look like a girl?" He asked, making Hoshi smile weakly,

"I am a girl." She took a shaky breath, tears wetting her eyes. "I understand if you never want to see me again." She whispered, making Kirito gasp. Kirito pull Hoshi into a tight hug, letting tears spill onto Hoshi's new dress.

"Hisoka, you're one of the few I have left. Hisoka she's still there. I'll never see her again." He whispered as Hoshi rubbed Kirito's back in a comforting way, willing the tears not to fall from her eyes.

"Kirito… I-I-I… I can't be Hisoka anymore… And I hate it. If my grandfather found out I spent two years as a male… I will have nowhere and nothing left… He will ruin my life… I just want to be back in SAO. On - on that note… Thank you for saving us." Hoshi whispered, the tears now coming fast from her eyes, as Kirito tensed around her and pull back.

"You told me you loved me." He whispered, making Hoshi sniffle, looking away.

"I do." Hoshi whispered, and Kirito twisted his hands together, looking at the floor,

"Hisoka… I just… I… I… Asuna." Kirito mumbled and Hoshi pressed her lips together.

"I'll wait for g-grandfather to arrive." Hoshi faltered when saying it, realising she still had another few hours left to herself.

"Hisoka, spar with me? You probably won't be as good as Suguha but… we still have grandpa's gear and you look like you need a fight." Kirito smiled slightly and Hoshi felt her insides go warm.

"I'm not Hisoka anymore… I can't… I just can't… But... Ok… Don't tell grandfather, he'd never forgive me." Hoshi followed Kirito to the dojo, smiling at Suguha as they walked in. Hoshi watched as Suguha slowly stepped back, her face curious at the blonde's actions. When Hoshi and Kirito had suited up, they collected the swords.

"Kazuto, the swords are awfully light…" Hoshi said making Kirito chuckle, "I said the same thing." The two ran at each other and something clicked in Hoshi's brain, her instincts took over and all she could see was Estranged Justice in her hand and another member of the Laughing Coffin in front of her. She was twisting and folding through the air, her only goal was to eliminate Kirito.

She couldn't remember what happened, just that when it was over, both she and Kirito were breathing roughly, wooden blades at each other's throats as Suguha stood, shocked. Hoshi, realising what she had done, removed her blade from Kirito's throat.

"I-I have to go. I'm still waiting for an answer." Hoshi raced outside once she had changed, her face bright red.


	22. ALfheim Online

You have one new message.

The computer flashed ominously at Hoshi, who narrowed her eyes at it. She never got messages at ten o'clock at night. Technically, she went to sleep an hour ago and was not up, surfing the internet for any new NerveGear games. She'd found one promising one, ALfheim Online, which she bought earlier that day. She was online at this moment to see if the game designer was crazy and locked everyone in there until they cleared the game… He seemed to be OK.

"Hisoka! Check this out! It's ALfheim Online! (I assume you have a copy.) - Kirito

Hoshi felt her heart skip a beat as she saw the name, but her heart fell as she realised it wasn't him writing a real answer back to her; he still didn't know if he loved her, it seemed. She replied:

I'm on in five, see you tomorrow. - Hisoka

Clicking send as she knew he wouldn't have time that night to play, she grabbed the NerveGear from her bedside table and slid it over her head without hesitation. Lying on her bed, she watched the time tick over from 20:02 to 20:03 and closed her eyes.

"Link start!" She said, and everything went white once more. Colours whirled past her before the senses were aligned and she chose Japanese as her language.

"Welcome to ALfheim Online!" The screen read, as a cool, female voice read it out. Hoshi felt at home and comfortable here, standing in the middle of two orange circles in a room surrounded by blue squares.

"First, enter your gender and character name." Hoshi looked down at the keypad in front of her, thousands of thoughts whirling through her mind as she robotically typed in her name.

Hisoka(M)

Hisoka was the name she had always wanted. No, she was a he now- again. Hisoka had always wanted to be a boy; he never knew why exactly, he just did.

'Now select your race. Please select one of the nine races.' It told him calmly and he scrolled through the different races, his eyes briefly flashing at the Spriggan, though it was too dark in clothing for him, before he saw the purple wings of the Imp. Smiling to himself, he accepted the race.

"Imp correct?" Hisoka accepted. "Your character appearance will be decided at random. Is that all right?" The voice asks him, he clicked the circle button, "You will now be transported to the home town in Imp Territory. Good luck." The world glowed faintly and Hisoka felt himself get lighter, lifting up, off the ground. He was falling, as he was doing so, his attire was changing. His sleeves elongated as did his coat, though it was choppy at best. Looking down, he saw it was similar to his final grey coat from SAO. The one that was shredded up to his thighs, except this one had no sleeves or hood - a cape! A thick metal belt wound around his middle, showing off just how thin he was as he fell, he saw a city rise out of the ground made from the mountains themselves. He fell with a heavy thud, landing on the ground; he swiped his hand through his hair while using his right hand to open the menu. It did nothing. Trying again, he began to panic, and then he used his left hand. There, in the menu, under settings, was the log out button. Hisoka smiled, breathing a sigh of relief, looking through his stats, his eyes glazed over. They were the same as his stats from SAO; all of the ones that are maxed out were there, still just as the rest of his stats were as he had them... It made his insides twist.

"This can't be true." He choked out, his eyes watering up. With shaking hands, he went back through the menu, looking at all the question marks of items he had to delete, before he got to one.

EJH001

Falling to his knees, he let tears drop from his eyes before remembering he did not have his mask, he wiped his eyes and stood up, retrieving the item from his storage. With a faint shimmer, a length of leather that Hisoka had wrapped around the handle of Estranged Justice. Going into its interface, he saw the option 'Live' and clicked it, holding his breath. There, before his eyes, the sword he had grown to rely on.

Hisoka wrapped his fingers around the grip, grinning at the familiar warmth that spread from his fingertips to his entire body and the freezing cold that dominated the blade.

This had the heart of a dragon. This had the heart of a killer.

He stood up, feeling a cool breeze on his face and so he opened his menu.

"Create message. Player: Hisoka. Get mask and cloak. You are the Silver Knight. End message. To be sent once in a main city." Hisoka said, quietly, looking around, he saw a sign saying 'New Players'. His heart plummeted, he was the new player, and he wasn't a beta anymore. He was just… a PKer.


	23. Peices and Fragments

"Hoshi! Hoshi!" Before getting to the area beneath the sign, Hisoka was ripped from the world, he felt himself being slammed back into reality. The lights were on above him and he realised that he was once more, Hoshi.

Hoshi stared into the angry face of her grandfather, who bared his teeth at her, "And what the hell do you think you were doing?" The black gaze that Hoshi feels on the back of her neck as she rolls over is much like the one she uses on those she kills as she interrogates them. "Those filthy games tore our family apart and now you bring them back. You really are an idiot." He brought his hand down, slapping Hoshi across her back.

"Stop, please." She whispers, quietly, "If I had been wrong about this game, you could have killed me." She trembles, and grandfather laughs, Hoshi turning to see what he was laughing about,

"Then you could have joined your sister. That poor girl is sitting in heaven, because of those games. Because of you." He spits, Hoshi tensing, thinking he had found out her secret, but grandfather continued, "You didn't protect her and some faceless killer took her life." He slaps her hard across the face. Hoshi cowers, sobbing, "Stop your crying. I want your eyes to be clear when I break your NerveGear." Grandfather threw it at the wall, creating a large dint and the NerveGear shattered into thousands of pieces. Hoshi screamed and cried, grandfather sitting at the end of her bed.

"I read those words thousands of times… NerveGear. Your grandmother did also. Her dying wish was to see you out of that game… That was a year ago, now. When your sister died, that's when it all started… The fevers… The hospitals… The cancer…" He sighed, quietly, "And I remembered thinking to myself, 'If those kids hadn't been stupid enough to play that game, research money could be used to save her. Your grandmother." He looked down at Hoshi, who was snivelling, "Now, my one true love and my favourite granddaughter are dead. You will never touch another virtual reality device ever again, you hear me?" He growled, getting up. Hoshi nodded furiously, tears now streaming down her face. As soon as her grandfather left the room, Hoshi was on her knees.

Scattered around her were the shards of the NerveGear, sometimes a small piece would cut into her flesh but… It was nothing. She lay her head down in the middle of the shards, her breathing slowly steadying the tears slowly dripping down her cheeks. There was nothing she could do now; she was stuck like this… With him… Without Kirito.

Kirito!

She would see him soon - she had to. For now, she lay on the floor, small cuts littering her arms and legs as she looked up to the ceiling.

"I didn't even get to fly." She croaked, crossing her arms over her chest, "I wish that SAO had never been cleared. I could stay there forever, I could be me. I wouldn't have to face grandfather, I would be free. My sword beside me, mask on my face." Her stomach heaved at the thought of what grandfather would do if he found out. The heaving became stronger, so strong Hoshi lurched to her feet and ran to the bathroom, holding her head above the porcelain of the toilet bowl. Tears and vomit pooled in the toilet, disgusting Hoshi, both with the sight and her life. She needs to be back in a video game, where grandfather could never get to her.

Stumbling around, partly from blood loss and partly from tiredness, Hoshi landed back on her bed, falling into a rough sleep.

"Hoshi!" This dream was different, Mutsa was no longer towering over her, like she would normally, now, and she was pinned to the ground, Heathcliff standing with his foot on her stomach. "Hoshi! Save me!" Heathcliff's face melted into that of grandfather's, he was sneering.

"Look, see what you did? This was your fault!" He growled, lunging with his sword towards Hoshi, who screamed, unsure of what to do, not realising it was a dream, grandfather hit her, stabbing her left arm. Hoshi looked down at the wound, expecting blood to be pouring out, but there was only a red glow that was so familiar it hurt. Looking up, grandfather's face morphed once more into Kirito's. He looked down at Mutsa, who was crying and struggling,

"I'm sorry; it's the only thing left." He whispered, stabbing Mutsa in the heart. She burst into triangles. Hoshi cried, her tears pooling at her feet until they had made a sea so deep Kirito drowned. Hoshi tried to stay afloat, but could not, drowning in the sea of tears…

The beep of a heart monitor was the first thing Hoshi heard as she opened her eyes.


	24. Friend in Need

The slow beep of a heart monitor woke Hoshi from her slumber, a sound that made Hoshi's windpipe contract as her eyes widened and the beeping of the heart monitor sped up. Hoshi clawed at the pipes attached to her arms and face, pain burning through her every fibre as each tenuous strand of the hospital's machinery was ripped from her body. Her lungs burned and tear threatened her eyes, but she would not break. The machine flat lined as the sensor was ripped from her chest and she stumbled to her feet, now feeling the ache of small cuts that covered her body. Some of the cuts were from the needles and equipment that had been planted by the hospital, others from the shards of the NerveGear.

A pounding in Hoshi's head made her dizzy and she faltered, her legs giving out and she crashed into the doorframe. The stainless steel lock scratched Hoshi's brow, a thin stream of blood dripping steadily down the left of her face, though he could no longer feel the pain, a sad, numb feeling is all that runs across her skin, sealing the little pin pricks and cuts beneath the bandages so that they could hurt no more.

Ice cold fear spread through her body as she stumbled to her feet, her limbs like lead, lurching back and forth through the white halls of the hospital as an alarm rang out, a call for nurses, it blared in Hoshi's ears and she was on the ground again, gasping for air as the tears poured down her cheeks. Soon enough, a pressure on her shoulder to lifts her from the ground, making Hoshi cough pathetically.

A woman, a nurse, clothed in white, turns Hoshi around and leads her back to the bed, laying her down, before taking a look at the cuts along her arms and the blood dripping down her face. The nurse seemed very familiar, her blue hair tied up at the base of her neck, a few strands hanging loosely beside her face, blue eyes shining kindly,

"Sweetie, what happened?" The nurse cooed, bringing the surgical swabs from the cabinet beside Hoshi's bed.

"He's going to come back; he's going to hurt me!" She moaned, a fresh bought of tears streaming down her cheeks. The woman wiped the now drying blood from her cheek before talking quietly,

"Your grandfather won't hurt you," She smiled slightly, but Hoshi's eyes just widened, all manner of drastic thoughts raging through her head. "He's in a mental ward, he won't be coming back."

"What? Grandpa? What do you mean?" Hoshi asked, wondering if this was one of Grandfather's tricks, or if her own blood-loss delirium was conjuring up a sweeter world than her own. Hoshi realised that all she felt was neither relief nor sadness, it was rage. A cold rage seeped through her system, turning her blood to ice. _What right did he have to punish her like this? What did she _ever _do to deserve this?_

"Your Grandfather has been a psychopath ever since your grandmother died, we have been checking in every month to make sure he is ok and it seems the violent tendencies have coincided with your arrival. You also seem-" The nurse checked the clipboard attached to the end of Hoshi's bed, "- to have a Grade Three B Concussion and many of your cuts are infected. Apparently you were found lying on the floor in shards of plastic, metal and glass, and had been like that for a day at that point. So you'll be staying here, Miss Siik." The nurse said, to which Hoshi had one reaction.

"That's not my name."

"What?" The nurse stared at her, confused, until Hoshi looked at the table, the perfect space for a NerveGear port.

"I need to be in that game. Put me in ALfheim online. I need to be with Kirito." The nurse stared at her confused, before a look of realisation flooded her,

"You were trapped in Sword Art Online, weren't you?" Hoshi's stomach clenched and she nodded.

"Please, just put me in the game, it's where I belong. It's where I need to be." She said, quietly, the nurse smiled, nodding. "Hook me up to anything and everything… I don't want to wake up." Hoshi whispered, tears once again forming in her eyes, her lips trembling. The nurse nodded solemnly, before going and returning with something Hoshi had never seen before, a thin piece of plastic much like a pair of sunglasses, but one piece of glass covering both the eyes.

"What is that?" She spat, eyeing it nervously, the nurse smiled, laughing softly at Hoshi's paranoia.

"It's the AmuSphere, the next generation of NerveGear." Hoshi nodded at the explanation, before placing it over her eyes.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Hoshi asked, suddenly turning to the nurse, who gave a grim little smile,

"My brother, Diabel, gave his life to that game. Now, I know he wasn't perfect, in fact, he was far from it, but I want to help anyone who helped him. I know you, Hoshi; you helped them win that game." The nurse smiled at Hoshi, who once again felt tears in her eyes, before lying down and closing her eyes. "Miss, what _is _your name, if you don't mind me asking, in the game, in case I need to tell you that we'll be moving you?" The nurse asked her brow furrowing.

"Hisoka." Hoshi said, quietly, and the nurse nodded, "Link Start!" Hoshi cried, the watching nurse smiling before everything went white. Colour flashed passed her, the senses all lining up. Once again, she found herself in the ALfheim online opening screen.

"Recover character 'Hisoka - Male'." Hoshi said, to which the system replied,

"_Tracing DNA signature. Character match confirmed. Character Hisoka (M) still available. Do you wish to play as them?" _The system chirped, before Hoshi clicked 'yes' and she was Hisoka once more. The world dissolved around him and he was teleported once more to the home town in Imp territory, Estranged Justice in hand.

"I need to get a mask. I need to-" There was a small ping, a flashing in the bottom corner of his screen. _A message_.

"Hisoka! I've been waiting! Meet me at Kuguru. - Kirito" the message read, before it closed off. Hisoka smiled, he would yet again see Kirito, make Kirito see that he was just as strong - maybe stronger. Somewhere in Hisoka's heart, he wished Kirito would fight for him too… Though that would never happen.


	25. Matters to Deal With

Hisoka sped off at the speed of light, running as fast as his skills allowed him (which was exceedingly fast). He was no Lightening-Flash-Asuna but he was fast. The promise of seeing Kirito again sped him along, glancing every so often at his map, to check he was going the right way. His breath caught in his throat; he had been running for almost two days now, barely stopping to eat. He did sleep last night, but ended up oversleeping and berated himself something fierce for the lack of discipline it showed. Then a thought popped into his mind, _why was he torturing himself like this, that is what his grandfather did, that's what he was finally getting away from. _

Mountains and streams flashed beneath his feet, never in one place long enough to admire the scenery. He had met many players, some had challenged him, Estranged Justice sliced through them with ease, leaving them red and made of tiny triangles. He stopped once after he had killed one of them, seeing the player watch with a scared expression, before a flaming ball reappeared.

"I apologise." Hisoka said quietly, before running off again. He was now going on two days without food but boundless energy to be in the place he loved. As time went on, Hoshi picked up some flight techniques, he wasn't brilliant, but he was getting there, and things felt more natural as the wings began to feel more like limbs than virtual devices. Things were slow going, however, his speed skill easily five times that of his fight skill, he began to fly more often, learning a bit about his race from friendly players and passing NPCs, learning the limits of his potential which should hurt but… It didn't which he found rather odd.

Soon enough, he paused to rest for a second night, coming to the entrance of a cave. "Do I go in?" He whispered, before looking at his map. Yes. Yes he went into the cave. Running once more, he set off, following the marker of his only friend - Kirito. He was somewhere in the cave… Near the middle, it seems. As he ran he felt the excitement spread throughout his body, his lips turning into a smile, which then dripped slowly off at the sound of a large explosion as he enters a large room.

It's rather dome like, larger than any city he's seen in ALfheim so far, it sat on a sort of island, allowing nine different paths to cut across the sparkling Crystal Lake that held shadows within its depths. The explosion came from two paths over, a small, blonde woman Hisoka recognises as a Sylph as a beast devours an entire group of Salamanders. He watches in awe as the creature's eyes glow red, the second-to-last Salamander grinded between the beast's teeth and the beast seems to disappear in a puff of smoke. Hoshi had been watching from the path he had taken before there was a chorus of laughter - Kirito's laughter! Hisoka looked at the water between them, cursing.

He decided to go to the town and get the equipment required of the Silver Knight. "Do you know where I could get a mask?" Hisoka asked a vendor, who smiled at him,

"Why yes! There is a shop that makes custom orders for masks, hats and anything to attach to a player's face, its three shops down! Would you like to buy anything here?" He asked, to which Hisoka replied,

"What do you sell?" Hisoka asked, on edge about missing Kirito, if he would go straight through the city and forget all about meeting Hisoka. The stall vendor smiled kindly,

"Armour and clothing; no offence, Imp, but it looks like you need both!" The stall vendor said, eyeing Hisoka's new, white hair that had purple threaded through it, Hisoka brushed a hand over it self-consciously, blushing. His again wished for a mask as his new skin was tinted with purple and the blush that was raised on his cheeks was purple in hue.

"Do you have cloaks?" He asked, the stall vendor chortled, making Hisoka smile slightly,

"Of course! I happen to be the best seamstress this side of the world tree!" He said, proudly, making Hisoka smile, making a mental note to visit the mask shop soon.

"Have you heard of a player called…? The Silver Knight?" Hisoka asked, raising an eyebrow. The stall vendor got very serious, eyeing Hisoka with a suspicious gaze,

"Yes, one of my three signature cloaks is designed after his. The other two being the Black Swordsman and The Lightning Flash… Why do you ask?" Hisoka felt his stomach leap which was hard to mask without his mask.

"May I please buy the Silver Knight cloak - the best quality you can afford?" Hisoka said, before the stall vendor cast a gaze at Hisoka's current attire.

"I'm not sure you can afford it." He said, making Hisoka scoff, angered by this statement and glad he retained his money from SAO.

"Money will not be a problem." Hisoka spat, before the vendor resentfully produced the cloak. It was exactly the same as the one from SAO, which he found exceedingly odd, then it occurred to him. "You were in SAO, weren't you? No-one else knows who those three are but someone from SAO." The vendor smiled, before nodding.

"I'm guessing you were there too. What is your interest in the Killer of Killers?" He asked, tipping his head to the side, analysing Hisoka, who cast his gaze to the floor,

"I am the Killer of Killers." He said, quietly, making the vendor jump slightly, "That doesn't exempt me from the cost, what is it?" He asked, making the vendor tremble, he held his hands out for the money forgetting that the currency was not physical, muttering the price. Hisoka paid, smiling at the vendor, "I'll come back here. The cloaks are nice." The vendor let out a relieved sigh, waving Hisoka off, smiling.

The situation was very different in the mask shop, the owner outright laughing at Hisoka's want for such a plain mask. Hisoka couldn't explain the situation to owner, just requested it be ready very soon. The owner asked how soon.

"How soon can you have it?" Hisoka asked, the owner having ceased his fits of laughter thought seriously,

"Five minutes if you can pay." The owner said, looking at Hisoka's jacket, he nodded approvingly. Hisoka smirked.

"Deal."


	26. Father and Daughter

Hisoka exited the mask shop, his mask secure on his face, before seeing a small pixie and a tall, dark-haired boy wave at a blonde girl who was logging out. As soon as she was offline, Hisoka tapped the dark haired boy on the shoulder.

The pixie looked rather scared as Kirito turned around. Upon seeing Hisoka's mask, he just smiled a warm, heartfelt smile. The two hugged, no words passing between them, despite the fact that Hisoka was bursting with questions as to their last meeting, but he held his tongue, just enjoying the moment. The pixie was looking wide-eyed from Kirito to Hisoka.

"Daddy? Who is this?" She asked, making Hisoka's heart stop as he looked from the small pixie to Kirito, who smiled, somewhat guiltily. He had noticed how similar they looked up close… Could it be?

"This, Yui, is Cleaver. He is one of the people I met in SAO." Hisoka bowed awkwardly, hoping the fear of Kirito's possible biological child didn't surface in his actions. This - of course - made Kirito laugh, a loud laugh that made Hisoka feel exceedingly stupid. "Cleaver, this is Yui. Asuna and I found her in the woods on Floor 22, since then, she has been our daughter." Yui smiled brightly, sitting of Kirito's shoulder. Hisoka laughed softly, bewildered at the sight - then why does she look so much like him… Those dark eyes… So much like Hisoka.

This thought made Hisoka smile, he thought of what his children with Kirito might look like, before his brain told him he was stupid, that Kirito and Asuna would have three beautiful girls with red hair and black eyes, which would have melodic voices and love VRMMORPGs.

Of course, no matter whom Hisoka had children with; they would all be short, dark eyed children, confused about their gender with no family on Hisoka's side. Every day they would wonder if they had a mother and a father or two fathers and have to go to school while their mother-or-father lay in a hospital bed, immersed in a world that would be obsolete in their time… Everything was always upgrading.

A little ping made Hisoka jump. It was a message.

"Hisoka, they're moving you to the long term ward. Don't worry, just letting you know, you don't have to log off. - Diabel." Hisoka muttered the words, smiling slightly at the use of the name, knowing at once it was the blue-haired nurse.

"Diabel… He was the one from Sword Art Online! He can't be alive! I… I… I… I saw him die!" Kirito whispered, making Hisoka laugh, softly, thinking more of the message than of his friend's dilemma.

"No, his sister is a nurse at my hospital… She and I keep in touch." He said, making Kirito stare.

"You're in a hospital!?" He cried, making Hisoka sigh, rolling his eyes - not that anyone could see. The feelings Hisoka had been locking out were pushing to the forefront of his mind, seeing the worried look Kirito gave him.

"Uh, yeah… The private one, long term care… Eighth floor if memory serves me correctly." Hisoka poked out his tongue a tad, thinking. Kirito, exasperated, sighs,

"Why are you in a hospital?" He take hold of Hisoka's shoulders, who leaps back, sword ready at the touch, before sighing,

"Kirito… My grandfather was a psychopath he broke my NerveGear and I passed out in the pieces. They found me and took me to the hospital. The cuts are infected and I have a concussion… It's more than that, though… I don't belong anywhere else. This is where I am happy. This is where I belong." Hisoka said, softly as he struggled to repress the pain that forced its way into his mind. That pain was mingling with an uncomfortable feeling of emotionally opening up to another person, something Hisoka didn't like doing as it meant relying on that person. He can't rely on people, not when he's not even comfortable touching them… Not since Mutsa and his Grandfather.

"Hisoka… You haven't logged out in about a week. I think he's telling the truth, daddy." Yui said, quietly, making Kirito gasp and wrenching Hisoka from his thoughts. Not that it helped. Hisoka couldn't stand to look at the pitying look he gave Hisoka, making Hisoka feel as though he could curl into a ball and cry.

"How have you been, Kirito?" Hisoka asked, his smile faltering. Kirito chewed his lip before smiling slight,

"Pretty good, I found a player to take me to the world tree." Hisoka nodded as Kirito talked, before Hisoka flicked through his inventory, bringing out two kabobs, offering one to Kirito. He nodded, smiling.

"The way out is up ahead, message me when you want to leave. I have to sort a few things out." Hisoka leapt into the air, the wings sprouting from his back. Kirito gasped softly, watching as Hisoka raised himself into the air, smiling at Kirito, before taking off.

"Diabel, are you still there? - Hisoka." Hisoka messaged, looking around. There were no other people in the air, but many were looking up at him. No messages appeared, so Hisoka zoomed around the edge of the town.

"Yes, what's up, H? - Diabel." The message was brief, but it made Hisoka smile.

"Thank you." Hisoka sent back, before seeing Kirito and his blonde friend talking near the exit, Kirito looking flustered - he must have said something stupid. Soon enough, looked like they were about to get going, Hisoka swooping down to join them. The blonde girl screamed,

"Leafa! Don't worry! That's Hisoka." Kirito smiled at Hisoka as he took Leafa's hand and said to Hisoka, "It will be quicker if we run, especially for you." He grinned, to which Hisoka laughed,

"Catch me if you can!" He cried, taking off as fast as his skill would allow, the scream of Leafa indicating that Kirito had also taken off, his feet pounding on the rock beneath.

"Uh, m-monster!" Leafa cried, to which Hisoka unsheathed Estranged Justice, Kirito's eyes went wide and he gave Hisoka a wide berth. Hisoka just ran in a straight line to the left of all of the animalistic monsters, large gorilla like things with helmets on their bloated and rather stupid faces, worn and dull batons in their lumbering, ham-like hands. He held his sword at arm's length, feeling the joy ripple through the blade, warming like a hot water bottle on the freezing mountains of Floor 55, as it was slicing the monsters in half, clearing a path for Kirito who was laughing joyfully as the animals burst into a thousand triangles - Hisoka had missed this.

"The exit!" Kirito cried, and Hisoka readied his wings, seeing the flash of light ahead, smiling as brightly as he could beneath his bleak mask, as he leapt out of the cave and into the streaming sunlight that was characteristic of ALfheim this weather cycle.

Not that any of that raced through Hisoka's head as he used Estranged Justice as a sort of rudder, preferring to glide (well, when it comes down to it, he preferred to walk). No matter, he was on another adventure with Kirito (and Leafa and Yui)…

Hisoka wondered if he would ever grow to hate Virtual Reality Multi Member Online Role Playing Games. Probably Not.


	27. General of the Blazing Flame

Kirito, Leafa and Hisoka burst from the cave; the few remaining enemies stumbled, injured, over the edge of the cliff as they flew away.

"That took years off my life!" Leafa cried, frowning at Kirito, who simply laughed,

"It saved time." He grinned as Leafa mumbled something. Hisoka just grinned beneath his mask and tried to keep up, musing that it would have been easier for him to run. He watched the countryside blur beneath him into an amorphous green blob, before his eyes turned upwards to a spiralling trunk of a white tree, which could only have been the World Tree.

"What are we doing out here?" Hisoka asked the others. Kirito turned to him,

"The Sylphs and the Cait Siths are forming a treaty, although the Salamanders wish to stop this and take control of both the lands. We have to stop them." He said, to which Hisoka groaned - he had no interest in saving another world, but if it's what Kirito and Leafa had to do, that's what he would do too. This world got lonely when you were a solo mercenary. "Where will the talks be taking place?" Kirito asked Leafa, who said

"Hmmm, let's see…" Leafa opened her menu before going into the map and checking, "To the northwest, inside that mountain." She pointed to one of the mountains in the distance.

"How much time to we have left?" Kirito asked, the three of them staring intently at the mountain,

"Twenty minutes." Leafa said, checking the time. Hisoka did also, wondering if the hospital had moved her to the secure ward yet.

"I hope we make it!" Kirito muttered as the three of them used bursts of speed to move through the air more quickly. As they flew, Leafa got closer to Hisoka.

"So, who are you?" She asked, making Hisoka snicker, wondering which name he should go by,

"Call me the Silver Knight." Hisoka smiled decided, which made Kirito laugh, swooping closer to them,

"I don't think you would be known as the Killer of Killers here." Hisoka flinched at Kirito's words, and he realised his mistake, "I mean… Here, in this territory… Ah… Sorry, Cleaver." He said, softly. Leafa fixed them both with an inquiring look.

"It's OK, Beater. Long history. Long… Long… History. Multiple deaths." Hisoka said, his mind's eyes fixing on a picture of Mutsa's twisted smile. Shuddering, Hisoka noticed Leafa roll her eyes,

"That raises more questions than it answers." Both Hisoka and Kirito laugh, flying through a patch of cloud, before Leafa streaks ahead. Suddenly, the air goes cold and the two joyful fairies see the dark expression on the blonde girl's face. Kirito races to join her.

"I don't know if we'll make it there before the Salamanders." Hisoka races to catch up with them, eager (though he would deny it if you asked him) about saving the Sylphs and Cait Siths. Stupid names.

"Yeah." Leafa agrees, "Even if we can warn them, we'll either barely get the leader out, or all die together in battle." Leafa watched the mountain, as did Hisoka, who remained stoic.

"Player signals." Hisoka gave a start, hearing a fourth voice, before realising it was Yui, in Kirito's pocket, "A group of sixty eight players is ahead. That's probably the Salamander attack force." The other three gasped,

"Sixty eight?" Hisoka asked, to which Yui nodded. As they drew closer, they saw the attack force, Hisoka sighed - close to two days without sleep now an invasion… he needed to sleep.

"Fourteen more are up ahead. Most likely the Sylph and Cait Sith diplomats. Fifty seconds until they make contact." Yui said,

"We didn't make it in time. Thank you, Kirito. This is far enough; you go to the World Tree. I'm going to save Sakuya. It wasn't for long, but it was fun." Leafa said to Kirito, before turn to Hisoka, "I don't know you, but truth be told, I hope we meet again. All of us!" She grinned, to which Hisoka snorted and Kirito shook his head,

"If I don't do this, I'll be trapped in another quest for revenge." Hisoka said, thinking back to the Laughing Coffins of SAO.

"And running away isn't really my style." Kirito said. He directed Hisoka and Leafa to stand by on the ground, not trusting Leafa as a swordsman and not trusting Hisoka as a flyer. He landed on the ground in the middle of the two parties, facing the Salamanders.

"Everyone put away your swords!" He called out. Hisoka disobeyed his command, sword at the ready, deciding to leave Leafa and scout around. He heard shouting, but could not identify it. Kirito's voice was the loudest, looking back every so often to see Kirito with a man clothed in red. Then, there was a bang from the sky and Hisoka's head shot up - Kirito had begun to fight. He watched with as the next five minutes were tense, Hisoka watching the two of them and there were metallic clangs resonating through the air every three seconds. It seemed like the man in red was gaining the upper hand, Kirito began to slow and his health bar depleted, Hisoka began to speed towards them as fast as his wings could carry him, but he was cut down, thankfully buying Kirito some time. The chop did not do much, however there was a paralysis effect on it and Hisoka went plummeting, Kirito calling out, having drunk a health potion, before going back to fighting.

Going back to the diplomatic assembly sore and hardly able to move, Hisoka sat on the edge of the cliff, watching as Kirito landed beside him, smiling slightly, before he walked over to Leafa and the two talked. The Salamander army landed opposite the diplomats as the man clothed in red was brought back to life using Sylph restorative magic.

"You are a very strong fighter. The best I have ever seen." The man said, who Kirito told Hisoka was the leader of the Salamander army, strongest player in the game so everyone thought.

"Thanks." Kirito said, arms folded, remaining quiet.

"I had no idea there was someone like you among the Spriggans. The world is a bigger place than I'd thought." The commander said, to which Kirito replied.

"So you'll believe me then?" There was a long silence after the words, the commander seeming to be waging a war within him.

"Gene-san, a word?" One of the other Salamanders called, making Hisoka sigh and join Kirito and Leafa.

"Kagemune?" Gene said, raising an eyebrow. "What is it?" He said, Leafa whispering something Hisoka didn't catch.

"You know that my party was wiped out yesterday, right?" Kagemune said, casting his gaze of Hisoka, Leafa and Kirito.

"Yes?" Gene looked at the shorter man, head tilted slightly to the side.

"This is the Spriggan who did it. There was an Imp with him, that Imp." The man pointed to Hisoka who froze. Kirito looked to Hisoka, who looked to Kagemune and was glad for his mask.

"You Imp, what is your name?" He asked, making Hisoka stand tall, chest puffed out.

"Hisoka, and you?" He ask, to which the Salamander smiled,

"Straight to the point, good. I am Eugene." He said, making Hisoka smile. "Why are you with this Spriggan and Sylph?" He asked, to which Hisoka replied,

"I'm a representative for the Imps, here to negotiate with Spriggans and oversee the negotiations of Sylphs and Cait Siths." Eugene's brow creased at Hisoka's explanation. This made Hisoka smile. The smile warped and faded as Hisoka checked the time. He was going on two and a half days without sleep and after all the excitement, he told Kirito he was about to pass out and moved away from the edge of the cliff as darkness overtakes him.


	28. Freak in the Sideshow

"Why is everything so bright?" Hisoka growled, shielding his eyes from the sudden bursts of light that assaulted him. He was lying in a bed that made his back itch, but it was flat and warm, which was the main thing. A smiling figure looked down upon him, he then realised it was the nurse, Diabel's sister.

Hisoka was once again Hoshi.

"Nurse -" Hoshi began, but the nurse shook her head, blue hair tied back at the base of her head,

"My name is Ai." She smiled kindly at Hisoka, who smiled back, wearily.

"Ai, why am I here?" She asked, to which Ai replied,

"You will be having visitors. Kazuto and Suguha, they said their names were." Ai looked at the message that was delivered from the front desk. "Seeing as ALO was down for a while, I thought you may want to freshen up." She said, taking the AmuSphere of Hoshi's head. Hoshi Got out of the bed on frail legs and held onto Ai's arm as she was lead to the bathroom. Ai turned on the taps, leaving the room.

Hoshi sat underneath the warm water, hugging her knees to her chest. She washed thoroughly, her mind going onto autopilot as she washed her hair. She pulled on plain underwear, a pair of cotton shorts and a t-shirt all in black, loving the feel of the warm material against her skin. Ai knocked on the door and Hoshi exited the room, not speaking.

She sat in the bed, legs crossed as Ai dries her hair, the warm air ghosting over the back of her neck. She brought Hoshi a bowl of yogurt and a piece of toast, both of which went untouched as Kazuto and Suguha walked in, chatting quietly together. Hoshi felt her heart drop at the downcast expression on Kazuto face and it no longer mattered that her sister was dead or her Grandfather seriously injured her or that Hoshi went to sleep on a video game wondering if tomorrow would come and she would still be lying in a virtual world.

All that mattered was seeing Kazuto smile once more.

"Hello, Kazuto, Suguha." Hoshi said, quietly. Suguha clenched and unclenched her hands while Kazuto leaned against the doorframe. Ai smiled at them both, waving.

"Hello, you two must be Kazuto and Suguha." Ai took the uneaten food from Hoshi's plate and Kazuto fixed her with an odd gaze,

"You look familiar…" He whispered, making Ai laugh as Suguha moved closer to Hoshi's bedside, watching Hoshi. Hoshi watched Suguha's every move, warily.

"I'm Diabel's sister." Kazuto's eyes widened and his fist clenched. "I sat by his bedside for that first month, right up until he flat lined. As you could imagine, I was devastated. I began training as a nurse so I could stop anyone else from dying… I wasn't faster enough to save Griselda, however… I just didn't make it." She sighed, looking at the ground. Hoshi looked at the ground, not noticing how Suguha put a single white rose in the vase on Hoshi's bed side.

"Brother, who was Griselda?" Suguha asked, to which Hoshi looked up, black eyes watching Kazuto, who seemed to refuse to speak.

"Griselda was a woman who was killed within the game. We met her husband, Grimrock within the game… She died, killed by members of a killer guild." Hoshi whispered, Kazuto turning to her. Suguha shuddered,

"People went around and killed others for money? How awful." She whispered, not seeing how Hoshi's fingers clenched in the bed sheets, but the small motion was not missed by Kazuto. Hoshi opens her mouth, but Kazuto walks to her bedside in three quick strokes.

"Hoshi, don't." He says, Suguha looks between them. Hoshi looking at the ground. Looking at her face, his own fell. Suguha joined him, she gasped,

"You're so thin." She said, brushing his fingers across Hoshi's arm, who pulled back, wrapping her arms around her knees and watching the other two as they stared at her like she was a freak in the sideshow. Ai came around, smiling sadly.

"Once she's hooked back up she's being fed through a tube." Ai's gaze flicked to the plastic bag filled with a gelatinous content that made Hoshi's skin crawl. Suguha tilted her head to one side,

"Hooked up to what?" She asked, making Hoshi grin, the first real sign of emotion.

"The AmuSphere." She said, closing her eyes as she relished in the weightless feeling accompanied with the wind rushing through her hair as she flew, apparently, when one finally finds their love of flying, it means they would do anything to fly, it feels like having the wind knocked out of you and discovering the way that life just seemed perfect, like when Kirito would smile at her. She feared she would never see that again, tears slipping down her cheeks as she smiled.

"You play ALfheim Online?" Suguha asked to which Hoshi nodded. Seeing the sad smile on Kazuto's face hurt than no smile at all. He was the only one who truly knew everything… Mostly everything. And that's why it hurt so much.

"You can't be here." She whispered, looking at Kazuto, who understood, something clicking in his head and he took Suguha by the shoulders, escorting her from the room. "I can't be here." Hoshi whispered, tears still falling as the smile stay on her face. She pulled the AmuSphere from her bedside, placing it over her eyes. The tears stung her eyes, but her voice was clear, "Link start!"


	29. Who I've Become

Hisoka got out of the bed at the inn near Arun. He spent all night running from the neutral territory and allowed himself a half an hour nap before facing Kirito and Leafa once more. He yawned and pulled the mask tighter, wincing as a beam of light hit his eye. Looking out of the window, he gasps, watching the golden orb of a sun rise above the houses of Arun, taking Hisoka's breath away. The light glinted off the white houses, their tiles sparkling like scales of a dragon in the snow, the sparse clouds glistening with moisture. It sparked something in him.

Hisoka laughed quietly for the first time in a long time. Perching on the windowsill, he laughs, watching the people in the city below become bathed in the golden glow from the sun as it rises from below the horizon. Jumping from the windowsill, he swooped down, wings sprouting and he shot as high as he could into the air until his wings began to fail. Noticing this, he turns around, crossing his arms over his chest and shot like a bullet to the ground before his wings reappeared, allowing him to land softly on the ground. He watches his wings curiously before opening the player handbook.

"Hmmm, Imps cannot fly higher than 200 metres. That's unfortunate." He shrugged, pulling the mask of his face, no longer needing to hide his emotions and leaping into the sky, he rocketed up as far as he possibly could, using the momentum, he propelled himself as high as he could, before falling back down, finally feeling that weightless, breathless feeling that everyone here loved. He screamed with laughter as he barrelled towards the ground.

"Hisoka!" A voice screamed, he saw Leafa below him. More laughter rippled through him as his wings sprouted and he landed beside her. "What are you doing?" Leafa asks, tipping her head to the side, raising an eyebrow.

"Laughing! I just realised that I will spend the _rest of my life_ here. I haven't laughed for so long…" Hisoka laughed once more, looking at his map, he saw Kirito's blip on the map and sped after him. Laughing all the same; he wanted to see him, seize the day, and tell Kirito that he had always loved him - that Kirito made him happy. He knew it was cruel, asking him to choose Hisoka or Asuna, but Hisoka didn't think about that, he would cross that bridge when he got to it.

"Kirito!" He cried, laughing, his eyes flicking across the crowd until he saw the ebony haired boy flying up to the base of a set of stairs. Hisoka sped towards him, "Kirito!" He cried, laughing. Kirito looked at him, Kirito turned, a hard determination in his eyes.

"Hisoka. How are you?" He asked, making Hisoka grin. Kirito watched him, before gasping, "Where is your mask?"

"I don't need it. Kirito, I realised-" He was cut short by two swords crossing over each other in front of the large doors.

"_You who know not the heights of heaven… Do you desire passage to the castle of the king?" _The stone guardians asked, to which a screen was produced in front of Hisoka and Kirito.

"What was that, Hisoka?" Kirito asked, turning to his friend, Hisoka laughed, waving him off,

"I'll tell you later, this sounds like fun!" He pressed 'yes', watching as the doors slide open, bounding in, excitement pulsing through him, Kirito following soon after.

"_Then show that you are worthy of letting your wings take flight."_ The guardians proclaimed, to which Hisoka smirked. Kirito drew his sword. He said something to Yui, who replied with a faint 'Good Luck' as Kirito drew his sword. Hisoka felt a purring beast had just been woken up; he was filled with new energy that no-longer burned with a desire for revenge. He was free of his grandfather and his overbearing sister; he was free of society's standards in one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen. That was a reason to live. And now, he had Kirito fighting by his side, Estranged Justice warming in his hand.

As Kirito brandished his sword, Hisoka turned, smiling, "I like the upgrade." Kirito smiled slightly, keeping a wary eye on Hisoka's own cleaver as the two of them entered the middle of the room. The enormity was startling, Hisoka saw the glowing blue spots on the walls hum ominously, but through the eyes he now saw through, they were all filled with possibilities.

Kirito leapt into the air with a war cry, Hisoka following, smiling the entire time, glad this was the place he would spend forever in. But as they advanced towards the top, Hisoka saw one of the pods sparkle and glow, before a white warrior was born from within, it came at Kirito who was higher than Hisoka, Kirito sliced its head in half, flying higher and higher, Hisoka following. Rows and rows of the creatures came from the blue shapes, dividing their attacks between Hisoka and Kirito, both fighters slicing through them with ease the problem was the numbers, but Kirito seemed to have boundless energy.

Both kept getting hit, both going higher and higher… Then the flights of arrows started pouring in, thousands of the warriors shot at Hisoka and Kirito, Hisoka no longer smiling. If Kirito died here, this would mean Hisoka could tell Kirito he loved him. Hisoka's inner fighter was back, replacing the person who saw such a wonderful world this morning. He flew around in circles, taking out rows of archers but getting hit so much it was like his very being was on fire he watched Kirito getting hit, flying after the dark-haired boy. That's when he saw it, the sword being poised to throw at Kirito by one of the monsters.

"Kirito!" Hisoka screamed, flying as fast as he could, he pushed Kirito down, taking the sword right through the chest. Time seemed to slow as he fell in slow motion. Within a few seconds more of the swords came flying, the monsters distributing their fire between the two. Hisoka watched as Kirito struggled to continue, "Ki- Ki -Ki- I… love…" Hisoka struggled to talk, spitting out a drop of blood reaching for the other teen, who was still reaching for the top.

_You are dead._

Hisoka screams, being trapped as a ball of fire slowly descending into his painless but imminent doom. The seconds counted down, he watched the other ball of flames that was Kirito, wishing that Kirito even cared.

_This is no place to try and live my life. This is where I should be getting away from, this is where I was trapped, a killer, nothing more. That's not who I was originally, _images flash into Hisoka's mind, his sister singing to him as she did his hair, crawling outside to watch the golden sun rise above the houses to warm his bruises from the previous day. If he was still a physical being that wasn't just a ball of flame and a consciousness, he was sure the tears would have been streaming.

The seconds counted down and Hisoka closed his eyes. The seconds ticked by slowly but Hisoka was wrenched from his death by a burst of wind, looking around, he saw a golden-haired figure flying towards them. _Leafa!_ She swooped around, trying to fight the monsters but she was nowhere near as good as Hisoka or Kirito. "Hisoka! Kirito!" She cried, scooping them up, she zoomed away, wincing at every arrow that pierced her skin, dodging the warriors, flying with both of the fiery swordsmen clutched to her bosom. She landed outside with a thump, murmuring Kirito's name as she pulled out two bottles of revitalising potion, putting drop on both Kirito's fire and Hisoka's fire.

With a whirl of flames, Hisoka felt his body returning to normal, Kirito's beside him. "Kirito…" Leafa whispered, tears forming in her eyes. Hisoka wanted to turn away in disgust, but he settled for getting out his mask, without the magic of a sunrise, there was nothing stopping him from being bitter and remorseful. Kirito leaned down in front of Leafa.

"Thank you, Leafa." He smiled at her; she looked away, abashed,

"I d-didn't…" She murmured, her cheeks turning the same pink as a pale rose.

"But don't do things like that." She looked up Kirito as he talked, "I'm fine." He assured. "I don't want to cause you any more trouble." He said, Hisoka wanted to spit in disgust.

"Trouble?!" Leafa cried, Kirito standing and walking to stand near the entrance. "Kirito?" She asked, turning to face him, "Wait! You can't do it alone!" Hisoka clenched his sword.

"He won't I'm with -" Kirito cut of Hisoka,

"No, neither of you can come." Hisoka gasped, realising why, but was beaten to the punch. Leafa hugged Kirito from behind,

"Stop! Just stop this. Go back to being your normal self. I… I… I… To me, you're…" She mumbled, Hisoka and Kirito tensing, Hisoka felt his insides twist uncomfortably,

"Leafa… I'm sorry." He rested a hand on Leafa's, "If I don't make it up there, nothing will end. And nothing will begin. I have to see her again…" Hisoka's suspicions were confirmed and he ground his teeth together. "I have to see Asuna again."

"What? What did you just say?" Leafa moved back, watching Kirito with wide eyes.

"Right, Asuna. That's the name of the person I'm looking for." Kirito looked up at the World Tree, Hisoka feeling the tears begin to spill over his cheeks. Leafa covers her mouth, looking at the ground, tears welling up in her eyes.

"But then… Then… That's… Is that you, Brother?" Hisoka's heart stops as Leafa mutters these words.

"Sugu? Suguha?" Kirito asked, to which Leafa began to tremble,

"This is awful. This isn't fair… It isn't…" Leafa had tears in her eyes, her hands, her whole body was shaking.

"Sugu?" Kirito called as Leafa clicked through her menu, finally getting to the log out button, as she did so, Kirito cried out, "Sugu!" Hisoka looked at him from behind his mask.

"Kirito…" Hisoka whispered, making the dark haired boy turn, watching with blank eyes. "How could you?" Kirito turned to face Hisoka, who slumped to the ground.

"I had to; I need to see her again." Kirito sighed, looking up at the tree, "If you were really my friend -" He was cut off by Hisoka who laughed, bitterly.

"We are not friends, can't you see?" Hisoka fell to the ground,

"But… I thought… You loved me." Kirito whispered, making Hisoka turn and glare,

"I always loved you. I never stopped. And the other week, you told me about ALfheim Online and I thought it was because you wanted to sort things out between us. You left me hanging and watched me die, but you still had the nerve to try and act like everything's cool. You didn't tell me you had a daughter. You didn't tell me you were getting married. You didn't tell me the entire reason you wanted me here was to help get Asuna back." Hisoka whimpered, making Kirito look taken aback, "And you have the nerve to trust a stranger when you specifically asked me to come find you." Hisoka bit his lip before looking up at Kirito, "I would die for you. On this world. In SAO. In any world. What don't you get about that?"

Kirito watched as Hisoka held his head in his hands. "You just broke two hearts." Hisoka took his mask off, pressing his lips together in a sad smile, "Congratulations, Kirito… I hope you're happy." Kirito looked shocked and Hisoka sat on the ground, mask in his hands.

"Hisoka! I just -" Kirito's words caught in his throat as Hisoka began to cry, hunched over, and curled up. "Why don't you log out?" He suggested, to which Hisoka sat up, eyes red and angry.

"What don't you get about the fact that _I can't log out_. If I do, all I'm left with a word without a family, no belongings and no friends… I may not have family or belongings here, but I thought that I had friends. When I think about it, we haven't had a real conversation in weeks… Then you show up in my hospital room and I remember that _you never gave me a true answer_. Do you loved me or don't you?" Hisoka cried, balling his hands into fists, clutching at his jacket.

"But… I don't know you…" Kirito murmured and Hisoka laughed, sadly.

"You are the only one who knows me. I have told you _almost _everything about who I am, it started on that night you found me when I was making pork soup. You want to know the one thing that I held back? Until the age of 14, I was beaten regularly by my own family for being me. I would go to school with cuts and bruises and when people asked how I got them, I told them I was clumsy. You've seen me, Kirito; I have the balance of a mountain goat." He sighed, looking down, "Go be with you sister. At least you have her." Hisoka looked away, up at the world tree.

"Hi-Hisoka…" He whispered, and Hisoka glared,

"I'll help you get up there if only to be an Alf. Then I'll be the strongest player in the game. I can be whoever I want to be. What do you not get about me just trying to be respected? The only way I know how is to be powerful. I don't want to be liked because _I'm not normal. _Just go." Hisoka spat, covering the feelings of hurt with anger and determination. Kirito nodded, before logging out.


	30. Top of the World Tree

Hisoka lay against the warm stone of the world tree's entrance. A young Sylph ran up the steps who looked like he was looking for someone. Before he could ask Hisoka any question, Hisoka slipped into the world tree, preferring to practice his skills. Every time the guardians became too much, he would step outside and drink another health potion, before going right back in to fight them all again, making sure not to die, treating this world the same way he treated SAO - walking a fine line between boredom and pure rage.

He took a breather, leaning against the wall opposite the door when the double door opened. In walked the little Sylph from before, Kirito and Leafa, who looked like they had made up. Hisoka sighed, walking over to them.

"It was so much easier fighting a dragon." He muttered, to which Kirito smirked, nodding. The two of them drew their swords, the little Sylph looking frightened and Leafa looking determined. Hisoka and Kirito let their wings sprout, raising into the air, to face the thousands of white warriors they were facing.

"Heal the other one too." Hisoka heard Leafa tell the Sylph, who nodded, the two of them chanting spells of protection. Hisoka and Kirito whirled around in a spiral shape, much like they did with the Dragon on Floor 55. Both of them sliced - up, down, diagonal, spiral… There was so many! Kirito and Hisoka watched as more appeared from the walls forming a barrier from the ceiling. Kirito cut through one after the other as did Hisoka, but they just kept coming. Hisoka would have cried out in pain had his level not been above ten, meaning that he no longer felt pain as they sliced through his arms and legs and torso, a cut on his left cheek. A shout from behind them accompanied by an immensely warm feeling told him that the two Sylphs had healed him and Kirito.

The warriors stop for a moment, turning to face the two Sylphs, "W-why are they targeting us?" The young boy asked, which Leafa responded to,

"They're probably using a different targeting algorithm from the monsters outside. Dividing our roles this way is futile." Leafa said, which was all Hisoka heard before three more warriors came swooping past his face with swords drawn.

"Then I'll help!" The little Sylph said, flying above them, something in his hand. He murmured something, slicing monster after monster in half with magic, trying to reach the top. Leafa's attention was occupied half with him and half with healing Hisoka and Kirito as they continued to battle.

"Recon! Stop it!" Leafa cried to the Sylph, Recon just looking back at her, smirking. Hisoka recognised that look, a look of someone willing to do anything to help the person they cared about. Zooming up to whee Recon was, Hisoka began to hack and slash at warriors coming to attack him from below as he shouted out a spell, the words swirling around him like a ball of molten energy. Hisoka felt the heat begin to spread and shut off his wings, dropping like he had done the other day. Recon had used dark magic to self-destruct, leaving a gaping hole between the warriors. Kirito and Hisoka sped for the hole, but more and more of the warriors struck from the ceiling, coming down, striking and throwing swords, Hisoka tried to move so Kirito would not be hit, but was taken down quicker. He screamed out as the hole closed. Leafa healed Kirito and Hisoka, but was quickly being swarmed upon by warriors, resigning herself to her fate, she continued to heal them, despite her impending doom.

A cry rose from below, looking down the three of them saw a Sylph army headed for them, hacking and slashing at the warriors. To the right, flying dragons, commandeered by Cait Siths. The leaders of the Cait Siths and the Sylphs talked with Leafa, telling her of the plans, before they ordered their troops to attack, the sheer amount of willpower being enough to startle the enemy.

"Hisoka! Watch my back!" Kirito called, Hisoka turned flying down to meet him, the two going back to back. The armies fought together, allowing a gap to appear in the ceiling, showing the door to the top. Kirito and Hisoka both went for it as fast as they could, but enemies blocked their way.

"Brother!" Leafa called, throwing her sword to him, he caught it, using it to cut a way through the enemies with Hisoka by his side. The enemies seemed to disintegrate at the sheer speed at which they rose before the two of them finally reached the top, the two of them breaking through the ranks, Kirito's blade biting into the stone of the top door.

Once there, they had to figure out how to get through, both getting desperate, both of them trying to break the door open with their swords. "Yui?" Kirito asked, to which the little navi-pixie flew from his top pocket.

"Yes, Daddy?" She flew to the door from one look from Kirito, leaning against the crack, "Daddy, this door isn't locked by a quest flag. It's locked by the system administrators." Hisoka took a step back, falling onto the ground, all this way and an emotional breakdown for nothing.

"What do you mean?" Kirito asked,

"Players were never intended to be able to open this door!" Yui cried. Kirito put his head in his hands, thinking for a moment before whispering,

"Yui… Use this." He produced a small square of plastic. Hisoka gasped, softly, before recognising this as a sign of his own weakness and quietly cursing.

"Is that… An administrators key?" Hisoka asked, Kirito nodded once. Yui pressed her hands to it.

"Transcribing code." She said, before placing her hands to the door. It opened slowly, as slowly as one would expect granite to move. It opened to show a shimmering pool of white light which almost blinded Hisoka, "It's going to teleport us! Daddy! You're hand!" Yui reached out for Kirito's hand. Kirito snagged Hisoka's hand and the three of them were bathed in light.


	31. Oberon

"Daddy?" Yui cried, sitting in front of Kirito. Hisoka came to, the pinpricks of light fading from his vision.

"Yui?" Kirito asked, to which he saw his daughter in her human form, only a few centimetres shorter than Hisoka. "Where are we?" Kirito asked, looking around. Hisoka looked around too, seeing the expansive white corridor ribbed with arches.

"I don't know. There's no mapping data." Yui said, biting her lip, much like a human would. It would have been cute if Hisoka wasn't so very angry with the world.

"Do you know where Asuna is?" Kirito asked, to which Yui closed her eyes, an orange glow surrounding her.

"Yes. She's close… Very close." Her eyes opened and she jumped to her feet. "This way!" She jumped around Kirito and Hisoka as the other two got up, following her footsteps.

Through the halls. Every so often, Yui would stumble, emitting a squeak, Kirito always beside to catch her. After a few minutes, she turns sharply, running right through a wall, Kirito and Hisoka following without hesitation. As they went through, the running continued until they got to a door at the end of the hallway. Yui pressed her hands against it and the orange glow was transferred, the door melting away to reveal an intense amount of light. When the light subsided, Hisoka watched the world form, stretching for miles beneath them; it took Hisoka's breath away.

They were close to the top of the world tree.

The three of them stood, looking out at the world around them in silence before Kirito mutters, "This is the top of the World Tree?" He looks up above him, "There's no Floating City up here… Some Grand Quest! Everything was a lie." He spat, making Hisoka feel like he had all his innards scooped out. He had helped Kirito for no reason… He couldn't be an Alf…

"Yui." Hisoka said, quietly. The young Navi-Pixie looked at Hisoka with wide eyes, Hisoka realised that she must have been in Kirito's pocket for Hisoka entire outburst. The first ping of guilt he's ever really felt started to seep in.

"Yes, Hisoka?" Yui asked, to which Hisoka murmured,

"Where is the GM? He must be up here somewhere. He must have a code." Yui closed her eyes, searching the system.

"I don't know his player signature… I'm not sure." She said, quietly. Kirito looked at the ground for a moment before muttering,

"I'll help you find them." Yui tugged at his sleeve and he looked down at her, smiling, "Oh, right. Gotta save Asuna first." Hisoka felt his innards drop. Yui nodded smiling. Something shiny caught Kirito's eyes, which Hisoka on further inspection was a golden birdcage. Kirito and Hisoka each took one of Yui's hands and began at a speed low enough for Yui to keep up. They ran around, keeping an eye on the bird cage until it came into view. The three of them saw a figure inside that looked very much - it was - Asuna.

They got to the opening of the bird cage, the sun casting a golden glow upon everything as it sunk beneath the horizon. As Hisoka realised what would happen when he reached that bird cage, he faltered, Kirito looked back, Hisoka watched the sun set, regaining his footing, and continuing with what he knew would be his final quest.

Once this is over, I'm leaving the virtual worlds. I'm leaving Japan… I'll go to America! Or England! Or France! I just… I can't be anywhere near here again. Ever.

Asuna rested her head on her arms, sobbing softly as the wind blew a cool breeze. "Mommy!" Yui cried, making Asuna lift her head, eyes wide. There, silhouetted slightly by the setting sun was Yui and Kirito, Hisoka sitting further down as to not interfere. "Mommy!" Yui cried once more. Asuna covered her mouth, the tears pooling in her eyes, unsure as to whether it was a mirage or reality. Yui cried out once more, placing a palm to the gate and shattering it. The dark haired child ran to Asuna

"Yui!" Asuna cried, holding Yui close as the tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Mommy…" Yui whispered. Asuna pulled back, looking at her daughter, smiling as the tears dripped onto her dress.

"Yui…" She crooned, holding Yui close once more. Hisoka bent over, head in his hands, tears beginning to pool in his eyes.

"Mommy…" Yui held Asuna as close as she could, burying her face in Asuna's neck, "Mommy!" The two held each other and cried as Kirito made his way slowly to Asuna. Asuna and Kirito just smiled at each other for a few moments, their reunion needing no words. Asuna wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Kirito." She murmured, Kirito walking over to her, smile on his face,

"Asuna." He murmurs, the two resting their foreheads together in an intimate gesture. "I'm sorry I'm late."

"No, I knew… I knew you'd come to save me." The three of them enjoyed their reunion in harmony.

"Now, let's go home." Kirito said, Asuna nodding. "Yui, can you log Asuna out?" He asked the Navi-Pixie. She shook her head.

"Mommy's status is locked down by complicated codes. We'll need a system console to dispel them." Yui said, making Kirito's heart fall.

"I think I saw one in the lab." Asuna said, but was cut short by a humming of sorts. A ball of light was gathering beneath her feet, sucking the gravity down.

"Hisoka! I need your help!" Kirito cried, reaching out. Hisoka turned seeing he was hunched over from gravity, the purple-haired Imp runs over, Asuna gasping at the familiar mask. Hisoka is instantly drawn down, falling not long after Kirito and Asuna. "Yui! What is this?" Kirito cried, the floor vanishing to be replaced by a disc of light. The entire world disapeared and all that was left was a black expanse and a glass floor.

"Daddy! Mommy! Be careful… Something bad is coming." Yui cried, unable to answer Kirito as she was being decoded. She disappeared in a cloud of purple numbers. It was a gruesome sight even for Hisoka.

"Yui! Yui!" Asuna cried, trying her best to stay upright against the gravity. Kirito reached out to Asuna with a shaking hand, fighting against the high gravity. Asuna reached out also, desperation in her eyes.

"Asuna!" He cried, both of them falling to the ground mere moments before they connected Hisoka falling milliseconds afterwards.

"What a surprise…" An unfamiliar voice drawled, "I didn't expect to see a cockroach in my little bird's cage." A figure clothed in green robes stands to Kirito's other side.

"You're Sugou?" Kirito sat, getting to his elbows. Hisoka had read about Sugou on the internet, he was the creator of the game; he would have the codes to Alfs.

"I'd prefer you not use that name in this world." He tutted, "Call me, His Highness, Fairy King Oberon!" He smiled, kicking Kirito down, Hisoka, seeing his chance got to his knees, struggling.

"Then you're the one I'm looking for. You must have to codes to Alfs." Hisoka struggled, Oberon tsked,

"You must be Hisoka. I've been watching you. Both here and in SAO… You are a killer, right, little imp?" He said, Hisoka looking away, ashamed as Kirito looked at him with desperation in his eyes - he knew Hisoka would make Oberon a deal if it benefited him and this would benefit him greatly. "Well, little imp," He flicked through the menu, "Set pain absorber ID Hisoka to level four." Hisoka gasped as Oberon drew his sword, "Dandelions shouldn't get too high and fairies shouldn't touch the sky." He punctuated the last lord with a blow from his sword to Hisoka's lower back. Hisoka felt the pain rocket through him and he screamed out, all of his nerves on fire.

"Hisoka!" Kirito screamed as the purple-haired boy lay on his stomach, trying to contain the scream of pure pain and agony - there was never any Alfs, not now, not ever. They weren't written in.

"Well, you can't move, can you?" Oberon shouted at Hisoka and Kirito. "This gravity magic is coming out in the next patch. Maybe it's a little overpowered?" He pressed his foot to Kirito's head,

"Stop it! You coward!" Asuna screamed, to which Oberon bent down, near Kirito's head.

"That said, Kirigaya… Or do you prefer Kirito? How did you get up here?" Oberon picked up Kirito's sword, running his fingertips over the hilt. "I saw a strange program running."

"We flew with our wings…" Kirito growled, laying on the ground and Hisoka was, who had overcome the pain and now was back to rage.

"It doesn't matter. I can just ask your mind directly." Oberon spun the sword on his fingertip, balancing it there as he smirked at Kirito.

"What?" Hisoka growled, looking up at Oberon, thanking the fact that the hit had taken hardly any life from him, it was a pain thing that hurt.

"You didn't really think I set up this entire thing for fun, did you?" He smirked, catching the sword, "Three hundred former SAO players… Thanks to their cooperation, the fundamental technology for emotion and thought control is already eighty percent complete. We tried to mix emotional and memory triggers to make Hisoka happy," He smiled at Hisoka, before turning away, "it wasn't very effective, it was soon washed over with anger… Unsurprising though, you're an aggressive fighter… brief spouts of love help." Hisoka shuddered and Kirito pressed his lips together, "But no matter, soon I'll achieve what no-one ever has, control of the human soul! The power of a god! And soon, that power will be mine! Three cheers for virtual reality!" He laughed madly, making Hisoka shake with anger,

"Sugou!" Kirito growled,

"You'll never get away with this." Asuna hissed, "Never!"

"Who's going to stop me? Sadly, there's no god in this world." He pointed his sword directly at Asuna, smiling like a mad-man, "Except for me! Now, before I begin altering your souls, let's have a fun party!" He clapped his hands together and shackles flew from the sky, dropping in front of Asuna's wrists. Oberon walked over, slowly, taking his time when putting the shackles on.

"You bastard, what are you…" Kirito spat as Oberon flicked his wrist up, the chains stringing Asuna up and making her muscles scream with resistance from the gravity until she was standing on her toes.

"Yes!" Oberon cried, flicking his wrist once more ever so slightly so Asuna was just hanging. She winced as she now hanging from the chains alone, making a slight squeak of fear. Oberon walked over to her, arms spread wide, "NPC women can't make that face…" Asuna's face was scrunched up as so she wouldn't see Oberon. Opening her eyes just a fraction, he reaches out a grabs her hair, she recoils more so as he takes a long smell.

"I love this smell. Replicating your scent from the real world was hard." He lets the hair drop through his fingertips, "I hope you appreciate how much work it took to get an analyser into your hospital room…" He buries his nose in the crook of her neck, taking a long draft, whispering into her ear…

"Stop it." Kirito growls,

"My, my… You need to stay on the ground… Writhing!" Oberon cries, once again kicking Kirito to the ground, sword raised above him before he plunges it into Kirito's back, Asuna screaming Kirito's name, Hisoka watching in horror. "System command! Change pain absorber from level ten to level eight." Oberon snickered as Kirito writhed in pain on the ground, "Hurts, doesn't it? I'll gradually let the pain increase, so you'll have something to look forward to. Of course, below level three, it will start to affect your physical body."

"Kirito!" Hisoka screamed, getting to his feet, knowing that he needed to save Kirito and he didn't know of anything else. No plan. One weapon. Against a god.

"My! You are all so spirited! We need to put an end to it." Smiling wickedly, Oberon watched as Hisoka drew Estranged Justice. "Change pain absorber ID Hisoka to level three." He said, Hisoka gritting his teeth as Oberon moved closer, picking Kirito's sword from his body, he face Hisoka, whose legs felt as though they were supporting the weight of an elephant. Hisoka let his skill charge, before running at Oberon. He dodged easily, not encumbered by the gravity magic. With a quick cut, Oberon cut down one of Hisoka's arms. Kirito cried out, but Hisoka just turned and hit Oberon in one of his legs, he laughed, his pain absorbers still at maximum.

"Change to level two." Oberon said, making Hisoka grit his teeth, red tinges at the edge of his vision, "Did it bother you that Kirito chose Asuna over you?" Oberon cooed, Hisoka growling "Is that where your anger comes from, the fact that this person you thought was your friend - maybe more - can't actually stand to be around you?" Oberon smiled, Kirito calling out to Hisoka, who heard none of it. He focused his energy, running directly at Oberon, who laughed, "Level One." He said, cutting Hisoka's other arm. Hisoka cried out in pain.

"Please! Hisoka! Stop!" Kirito cried out, reaching for Hisoka. Hisoka faltered, looking at Kirito, but then at Oberon, who was leaning against Kirito's sword, smiling.

"It must be especially hard for you, Hoshi. Say, aren't you in the same hospital as Asuna? How often does Kirito visit you? I know he visits Asuna once a week, usually more. He traded all of his knowledge on SAO for her whereabouts… What about you?" Oberon said, Hisoka faltering, no longer feeling drained by the gravity, but by the thoughts. "You know, I think it would be easier to kill Kirito than to kill me. Wouldn't you rather kill him than see him with Asuna?" Oberon smirked, Hisoka watching as Kirito looked wide eyed at him, Asuna's tears dripping to the ground.

Hisoka once again tried running at Oberon, trying to forget about everything that he said, but he struck Hisoka across the face, making Kirito call out and Hisoka's mask break, as he screamed with agony, the emotion clear on his face.

"Hisoka! He's lying! Please!" Kirito cried, to which Oberon laughed,

"Oh, Hoshi… You and I both know that he would do the same thing for Agil or Diabel if he was still here… You're just another person he will never remember…" Oberon saunter over to Hisoka, directing him to Kirito, "He would never love you, Hoshi… You know that. If you kill him, I will write you that code for Alfs. You will be the only one ever. Do you hear me?" Oberon grinned at Hisoka, who looked at the ground. Kirito struggled to his feet.

"You! What are you doing?" Oberon shouted, lunging at Kirito. Asuna cried out…

"Hisoka!" Kirito cried, watching as Hisoka fought to smile, Kirito's sword buried in his stomach. Oberon growled, but smiled as he saw the two of them hit the ground, Hisoka in Kirito's arms.

"Hisoka?" Kirito whispered,

"Yeah?" Hisoka said as Kirito was trying to remove the sword from his stomach. Hisoka held the hilt, shaking his head,

"Why did you do it?" Kirito asked, "You could have been an Alf, it's what you wanted." He said, Hisoka laughing, bitterly,

"No, Kirito. I want what will make you happy… Not what will make me happy…" Hisoka watched as his health bar entered the yellow, looking at Kirito, he smiled.

"B-but… Hisoka! You make me happy!" Kirito whispered, making Hisoka chuckle, despite the soul splitting pain in his stomach.

"No, I don't. I never did… I know it now…" Hisoka coughed, lightly as Kirito shouted disagreements, "I'm never waking up, Kirito… Without you, I have no reason to return… You'll be spending all your time with Asuna so… This is goodbye, Kirito…" Hisoka watched as the last points of his health dwindled away. The last thing Hisoka heard was Oberon's shout of:

"System Command Send ID Hisoka to Arun." Hisoka felt himself disappearing and watched as Oberon once again stabbed Kirito into the ground.


	32. The Real World

Hisoka was back at the inn he stayed at last night, the sun almost completely beneath the horizon. The sight was golden, Hisoka watched the last few rays disappearing before he lay back on the bed and wept. He cried for almost an hour, until he was so sore from screaming that he thought he could never cry again. It was not long after that before the world warped around him and vanished, beeping and flashing going off all around him.

_"Hoshi! Hoshi! Can you hear me?_" A familiar voice was foggy in Hisoka's ears, but he nodded all the same. Then he remembered, he was Hoshi - she was Hoshi. Once realising where she was, her insides felt like they were on fire, her face was burning with pain and her arms hurt like hell - from where Oberon had cut her.

"Send me back there! Ai! I need to go back! I can't be here!" Hoshi screamed, flailing. "The pain is so real… I just… Oberon… Ai, I can't be here! I have no reason to be here!" The person just smiled at Hisoka and when Hoshi saw who it was and tears sprung afresh to her eyes.

"A-aren't you… Oberon?" She whimpered, to which he laughed, a cut on his throat, his right eye red.

"Glad to see you remember me. Now… For all the pain you caused me, you're little rebellion caused Kirito to get the best of me… In both worlds. He gestured to the cut on his throat.

"Now, I'm going to do to you, what he did to me… He raised a scalpel, Hoshi screaming out. "Kirito was here, earlier, this very hospital. Hasn't he been here?" Hoshi shook her head, trembling. The man laughed, "Oh, Hoshi, I'm Sugou, so you can cry for mercy." He smiles darkly, "And once you do, I'm going to do to you what I was going to do to Asuna." Hoshi gasped as he lowered the scalpel to her cheek, slicing through it slowly. Hisoka felt the blood seep from the wound and Sugou wiped his thumb over it.

"This is my favourite colour…" He whispered, taking the scalpel and pressing it to her throat.

"Sugou! How dare you!?" A shout came from the door and more pressure was applied, the skin tearing, a thin stream of blood dripping from Hoshi's throat and coating the neckline of the gown.

"Kirito!" Sugou laughed, "You're just in time to watch the little forgotten one die." He laughed, manically. Then he was cut off, Hisoka felt the pressure lessen. Kazuto called out in surprise as Sugou slumped over Hoshi's body.

"Ha… That Chinese medical practice book proves its use time and time again." A light laughter fills the room as Ai steps out from behind Hoshi. "Pressure points in the back of the neck." She took Sugou's body off Hoshi, turning to Kazuto, "Weren't you going to see Asuna?" Kazuto looked at the ground,

"I did, I wanted to check she made it out all right, but… I wanted to show Hisoka that I didn't hate him, that he makes me happy. You always have." Tears began to form in Kazuto's eyes, "I do love Asuna… But I'm not _in love _with her. Hisoka, you've saved my life more times than I can remember and I need to give you an answer." He sits with Hoshi, "You were the first one in the game to care for me, you told me everything and you never lied. You were cold to everyone but you trusted me enough to show me the real you… You hate yourself which just makes me like you more because you're only human. You make Suguha laugh and feel good about herself; you protect those who need it… Including myself. You saved my life and you save Asuna's life only an hour ago." He held Hoshi close.

"Hisoka, I love you." He whispered.


	33. My Life, My Love

Hoshi lay out on the stone table in the sun, snoring lightly. A light peck on the cheek woke her, making the assailant laugh lightly, "Hello, Cleaver." Kazuto smiled at her, making Hoshi grin. Kazuto ran a thumb over the thin scars on Hoshi's arms from where Sugou had cut her.

"Hello, Beater." She said, despite the fact that the nicknames had begun in the game, it was easier than Kazuto trying to remember Hoshi when he knew her as Hisoka - she preferred Hisoka, but it was frowned upon. She leaned sat up, allowing space for Kirito. "How's Asuna?" She asked, making Kirito smile,

"She's doing great; she's out of rehab and walking without a cane. I'm taking her to the meeting, tonight." He said, nervously eying Hoshi, who grinned.

"Kazuto, I trust you. I always have." She kissed him on the cheek, knowing that it would take some time for him to get used to being friend with Asuna, but she had to be patient, things like that do not happen overnight.

"So, if I were to make a move on her, you wouldn't care?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course I would care; I just don't want to be the jealous stalker type. I care about you more than anyone and for that reason; I must also trust you more than anyone." Hoshi smiled and Kazuto took her hand;

"His - Hoshi, you are so excellent." He smiled at her and she rested her head against his shoulder.

"Saying things like that gets you swarmed by angry fan girls… They may tear me limb from limb." Hoshi laughed, her eyes flashing to the cafeteria where Silica and Lisbeth were probably enjoying lunch.

"Hoshi…" Kazuto had noticed the direction of her gaze, "Are you all right?" He asked, wrapping an arm around her, she smiled, sadly,

"Of course… I miss Mutsa, but it's getting better. I still don't consider food my friend." She laughed, making Kazuto laugh too,

"I thought you might say that." He pulled an air tighter plastic container from his bag, the contents inside steaming. Opening it up, Hoshi let the smile spread over her face, her insides swirling with happiness.

"You know what's weird; I can't remember how it tastes." She laughed, looking at the delicious pork soup in front of her. Kazuto produced two sporks for them, he ate little, having had one of Asuna's sandwiches, but Hoshi ate quite a lot, so it didn't matter. When they finished, Kazuto snapped the lid back on and put it in his bag once more. Hoshi held Kazuto close, closing her eyes, "Thank you, Kazuto." She whispered.

"You're welcome, Hoshi." He whispered back, Hoshi smiling, "So, how are you getting to the meeting?" He asked, Hoshi smiling to herself.

"I'm a big boy; I can take care of myself." She smiled.

"I know… I just worry. What if he breaks out?" Kazuto looks up at the sky, frowning.

"Sugou can't breakout; he doesn't know what it's like to be in that scenario." Hoshi laughed, but Kazuto shook his head,

"No, your grandfather… Hoshi… Would you be OK?" He asked, to which Hoshi sighed, her heart sinking at the thought.

"Now that I'm living with Ai, all of my things from that house have been transferred. There is nothing there to suggest I ever lived there, or where I am now. I'm as safe as I can be… And really, after facing Sugou, I think I can deal with anything!" She laughed, Kazuto smiling at her. The two of them lay down on the warm stone table in the sunlight, side by side.

"Hoshi?" Kirito murmured, twirled a strand of her hair around his finger.

Hoshi turned to looked at him, "Yeah, Kazuto?" She asked.

"A-are you going to have surgery?" Kazuto asked, to which Hoshi sighed, shaking her head, "Will you change your name?" He asked.

"Maybe… I'd like to." Hoshi smiled softly, watching the sunlight filter through the tree tops.

"A lot of people asked me why I would play ALO after getting out of SAO." Kazuto said, looking up at the sky. Hoshi nodded,

"What do you say?" She asked him, taking his hand in her own, watching the clouds drift past.

"That I had to save a friend. No-one really gets that, except you." He said, and Hoshi smiled to herself.

"I tell them it was so I could be myself around people who care for me…" She yawned, placing her head on Kazuto's chest, closing her eyes. "How long until your next class?" She asked him,

"Around forty minutes, everyone's having lunch now." He said, Hoshi holding his hand. She made a contented noise in the back of her throat before allowing sunlight to drip upon her as it carried her off to sleep.

Hoshi woke with a start, sunlight still beating down on her, meaning she hadn't slept for hours. Checking her watch, she laughed lightly, it had just been a half-hour nap. Kazuto lay beside her, eyes closed, breathing steady… He was adorable when he slept.

"Beater…" She murmured, moving his hair from his eyes, he mumbled something back, but did not wake, "Beater." She pressed her forehead to his; he smiled slightly, but did not stir otherwise. "Kazuto." She laughed, going to kiss his cheek. At the last moment, he moves his head, kissing her on the lips. Hoshi giggled into the kiss, holding Kazuto close.

"What time is it, Cleaver?" He asked Hoshi, who checked her watch.

"Eight minutes until class. What do you have next?" She asked, to which he scratched his head, propping himself up on his elbows.

"Uh, Japanese… I think." He murmured, to which Hoshi said;

"I have History, the classroom on the other side of campus." The two got off the stone bench, Kazuto kissed her cheek before she said "I'll see you at the meeting, give Suguha my best!" She laughed, skipping off to class, Kazuto nodded, heading off on his own way. As Hoshi drew nearer to her classroom, she saw a familiar face standing outside the building.

"Hey, Asuna." She smiled. Things between Asuna and Hoshi were rather tense, which Hoshi didn't like in the real world.

"Hey… Hoshi." Asuna said, "Listen, Kazuto is taking me-" Hoshi waved her off,

"I already told him, it's fine. I trust you both… Sort of… You guys _were _married…" Hoshi bit her lip, looking at the ground, the mood flat lining.

"Really? Thank you, Hoshi. I know it's weird and awkward but… Kazuto made his decision… He knows you better than I do." She smiled, making Hoshi grin,

"Outside of the game, I'd love to get to know you. There must be a reason Kazuto married you… I do want to be your friend, Asuna." She said, smiling at Asuna, who looked both awkward and happy.

"I-I didn't expect this at all…" Asuna half laughed, to which Hoshi replied,

"We make him happy so I want you here. If it doesn't work… We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." The bell sounded and Hoshi began to walk away, "Don't try anything funny with my boyfriend!" She called over her shoulder, half laughing.

"I won't. I promise." A smiling Asuna called back, waving.


	34. Celebrations

Hoshi waited at the bar beside Riza who played Lisbeth. She would often glare at Hoshi, but apologise when caught doing so. Hoshi waved it off, laughing.

Soon enough, Kazuto opened the door of the tavern with Asuna and Suguha in tow, Asuna looking exceedingly happy to see all of her friends and Suguha to meet all of Kazuto's friends. "Hey, now… We aren't late." Kirito looked around at everyone, indignant at being the last one

"The stars of the show always turn up last." Riza bounded up to him, smiling, "So we told you a slightly later time. Come on in." She grabbed Kazuto by the hand, dragging him in. She pushed him up onto a crate, grabbing the microphone. "Let's have a cheer everyone. Ready!" She threw her arm out to the crowd as they shouted.

"Kirito, congratulations on beating SAO!" Party poppers went off everywhere and the congratulations banner fell from the ceiling. Kazuto's eyes ghosted over Asuna, smiling, Riza handed him a drink.

"Cheers!" She cried, which was followed by everyone. Hoshi walked over to Kazuto, sensing his discomfort. He stepped down, sighing, but was soon engulfed by a hug from Hoshi.

"Congratulations, Kirito." She whispered in his ear. He hugged her back, smiling,

"Thank you, Hisoka." He held her close as the two of them walked to the bar. "Bartender, bourbon on the rocks." He said.

"Vodka, two drops of spring water." Hoshi muttered. The drinks slid down to them. They picked up their respective glasses, taking a sip, "Is this soda water?" Hoshi asked, looking at Agil.

"This is oolong tea." Kazuto said, to which Hoshi grinned, finishing her glass of soda water with one swig.

"Agil, give me a real bourbon on the rocks." Klein sat down next to them, smiling.

"Sure about that, Klein? Aren't you going back to work after this?" Kazuto asked as Klein took a drink,

"Can't pull overtime without alcohol. And…" He looked over at the other girls who were all frolicking and eating pizza, Hoshi rolled her eyes.

"Hello." A man in a suit sat beside Hoshi.

"Thinker… I heard you married Yulier. I know it's late, but congratulations." Kazuto smiled at the man, as they clinked glasses. Hoshi never knew Thinker, so she sat there, rather awkwardly.

"Getting used to the real world is still taking everything I have. I'm finally getting back into the groove at work." He said, before Klein leaned over;

"Congratulations, man! Hey, I've been reading the new MMO Today." He said, Hoshi smiled at Klein, happy knowing there was someone else who read the magazine that had been so much of her life before SAO.

"Oh, how embarrassing." Thinker said, "There isn't much content yet. And the way things are for MMOs now, walkthrough information doesn't mean so much."

"It's like the chaos when the universe was born." Kazuto smiled before looking up at Agil, "Agil, how has the seed been?" Kazuto asked. The seed was an object given to Kazuto by Kayaba that means anyone can create their own world and create different codes for it; Kazuto had spent hours telling Hoshi about the things that had happened after his sacrifice at the top of the world tree.

"Amazing. There are around fifty mirror servers. A hundred thousand downloads. And three hundred major severs that actually run it." Hoshi felt a little happy spark in her stomach, as Kazuto wrapped an arm around her.

"Hey, we're still going to the same place for the after party, right?" He asked Agil, who nodded.

"Yeah, at eleven tonight. We meet in Yggdrasil City." He said, smiling at Hoshi, who grinned back. She was going home.


	35. The Creation

Hisoka sat at the base of the world tree, the old Hisoka, from SAO, bandaged breasts and grey cloak. After a few deep breaths, he once against stood, entering the world tree. Just like last time, the warriors came from the walls, he fought and he hacked and he sliced, smiling as he did so, losing track of time.

The bells than began to chime and he was brought out of it. Dropping to the ground, he sped out of the door and into the air, to watch the moon. He looked to the sky, grinning. A large shadow began to overshadow the moon, but it was no shadow at all. Once in position, a blinding flash of light overtook it and Hisoka laughed out loud. Aincrad was back. He spotted Leafa and Kirito over to the side, talking.

"What's it doing here?" Leafa asked, to which Kirito replied,

"I'm going to beat it. This time, I'm going to beat all one hundred floors, and conquer that castle." Kirito smiled as Hisoka flew over to them, grinning.

"Not if I beat them first." Hisoka smirked, Kirito smirked back.

"Leafa… My stats were reset, so I'm a lot weaker now. You'll help me, right?" He said, patting her on the head.

"Yeah, I will!" She cried, "I'll go anywhere with you." She said, smiling. Hisoka smiled at the family scene not having seen a family this close for an age. As they were hugging, Agil, Klein, the Cait Siths, Sylphs, Recon and the Salamanders were all speeding towards Aincrad. Asuna passed, now as an undine. She took Leafa's hand;

"Let's go, I'll show you around." She said, smiling - if not a little sadly - at Kirito and Hisoka.

"Mommy! Wait!" Yui flew from around Kirito to meet Asuna, who laughed.

"Race you there!" Asuna laughed with Leafa, who both took off at high speeds. Hisoka and Kirito watched, smiling.

"It's over, isn't it?" Hisoka whispered. Kirito turned to him, holding him close.

"We're free. Hisoka… You can be whoever you want to be and I will always love you." Kirito whispered, Hisoka let the tears spill onto Kirito's jacket. "Where will you go first?" He asked, to which Hisoka smiled at the prospects.

"To Floor 11. I'm going to erect a monument to Mutsa. Then I'm going home. To Floor 55." Hisoka explained, Kirito nodded, smiling. "And I don't want to race you to the top. I want us to do it together." He said, to which Kirito smiled at him,

"Then I'll be waiting for you on Floor 55, Silver Knight." He smiled, kissing Hisoka softly. Hisoka held Kirito tighter, smiling into the kiss. Hisoka felt the world move around him as he and Kirito fly to their home.


	36. Dusk

Hisoka feels the cold slap of dew on his cheeks as he runs through the forest, leaping over fallen logs and hidden roots, gritting his teeth. Looking ahead, he sees a break in the trees, the sky full of fairies flying somewhere or another. As Hisoka burst through the undergrowth, the sun bathes the world in a beautiful golden colour as the sun rises from below the horizon. Without warning, Leafa swoops down on him, hugging him tightly. Asuna waves from overhead, Yui kissing him on the cheek. Lisbeth brandished her sword, pointing it at Hisoka, before flying off, laughing lightly. Silica and Pina flew past, trying to catch up with Lisbeth, smiling at Hisoka as they passed. Agil and Klein were arguing lightly overhead about statistics, they both wave to Hisoka, smiling brightly. Kirito is the last one to pass, landing beside Hisoka.

"Why aren't you flying?" Kirito asked, to which Hisoka shrugged, his ebony eyes watching the now clear sky before looking back at Kirito.

"I'm not as comfortable flying as everyone else seems… I did run across an entire world to find you." He smiled, Kirito smiled back. "I know it may seem weird, but… I'm not normal, and that's how I like it." He laughed lightly.

"No, you're not normal." Kirito agreed, "You're excellent, Hisoka." He smiled, his wings sprouting, and he lifted lightly from the ground.

"I'll race you there!" Hisoka cried, digging his feet into the ground, pushing off and into the undergrowth. He could hear Kirito laughing as he flew up ahead, sunlight occasionally spitting through the treetops. The shrubberies cleared ahead and Hisoka saw the rest of the group all milling into the meeting hall, talking and laughing with each other as they got through.

Above his head, Hisoka saw Kirito slowing to a halt, "See, I run just as fast as you fly." He smirked, making Kirito smirk back.

"Rematch." He said, to which Hisoka nodded. Everyone filtered into the hall slowly, Hisoka and Kirito the last ones in, taking time to close the door and walk in. Once inside, Hisoka closed the door, taking Kirito's hand as the two of them hovered to their usual spots with Agil on Hisoka's left and Leafa on Kirito's right. Hisoka grinned at Agil, who smiled back - there was no use being cold to them now he knew everyone in real life, even if things are still rather awkward with Asuna.

Agil stood from his seat, walking slowly to the front of the room, coming up to the microphone. "I would like to mark today as six months since the last person was freed from the death game." A cheer rose from the audience and he smiled, "With that aside, is there any new business?" He asked, looking around, a single hand rose.

"Thankyou, everyone. I know not many people know what I went through, but thankyou for saving me from that." Asuna's voice was full of gratitude and tears sparkled in her eyes. Hisoka smiled at Asuna as did the rest of the assembly and applause rose from the audience. As Asuna sat down, Agil got to the microphone.

"If that is all the business for today, I thank you for your time and remind you that the next meeting is in a month." He stepped down from the stage, giving Asuna a smile and the rest of the people milled about.

"Kirito, I'm going to head out with Recon for a bit, I'll see you later." Leafa smiled at Kirito and Hisoka, before hovering to the exit. Hisoka took Kirito's hand, the two of them following shortly afterwards.

"So, rematch?" Kirito asked, smiling, Hisoka nodded, "Good, I have a place in mind, I'll put it on your map." He clicked a few buttons and a new blip appeared on Hisoka's map.

"Where is that?" He asked, seeing only trees on the map and pools of water that are only roughly mapped. Kirito just smiles, hovering into the air, Hisoka smiles back, digging his feet into the ground before Kirito calls out go and they are off. The tree branches whip Hisoka on either side as he slips between them, watching and jumping over hidden roots and undergrowth that would block his path. Every so often, he would flick to his menu, not bothering to stop as he did so, to check he was going the right way. The trees ahead soon cleared and to Hisoka's dismay, Kirito was already there.

"Hey, Cleaver." Kirito smiled at Hisoka, who stood for a minute, catching his breath,

"How did you get here so fast?" He asked, to which Kirito laughed, softly,

"Teleportation crystal…" He produced one before putting back and taking Hisoka's hand. "That, and I wanted everything to be perfect." He pulled Hisoka through the woods, getting to a quiet, sunlit spot that was warm and secluded. Kirito seemed to be breathing deeply, as if to prepare himself.

"Hisoka. I have know you for over three years now and you are the only person I know who would die for me, no matter the world or the consequences… This makes me fear for you and be so grateful to have you…" He gets down on one knee, pulling a small velveteen box from his pocket. Hisoka's breath leaves him as Kirito smiles hopefully up at Hisoka. "Hisoka, will you marry me, here, on Sword Art Online?" Hisoka stands still for a moment, gazing into Kirito's hopeful eyes, before pulling him up and crashing his lips against Kirito's, the soft, warm taste that just felt so right as Kirito's lips moulded to his own made Hisoka feel so safe.

"Yes." Hisoka manages, holding Kirito as tight as he could, "Of course." He half laughs before Kirito murmurs in his ear,

"I love you, Hisoka."

"I love you, Kirito."


End file.
